TT3D: Closer to the Edge Page #3

om My God.

You know, if a part breaks,

then it's just bad for everybody

in the TT particularly, because,

well, you only get one hit

and then you got to wait 12 months

to have another go.

I don't have heroes

until Chris Mayhew.

Yeah, he's the boy. Mad, in a way.

Lovely bloke, into his dogs.

He nearly got his dog to talk.

Nearly. Likes his grandfather clocks.

Makes his own wine, he's got a grapevine

growing out of his garden.

Through a window, that he's chiselled

out in his conservatory,

that grows into his conservatory.

You know, gets his own grapes.

Makes his own wine.

That's a boy that, innit.

Not many folk do that.

I got an entry

info the TT in '73.

And I crashed in both races.

So, I saw more of Noble's Hospital

than the track really.

What I do, basically,

is take a road engine

and turn it into a race engine.

My biggest boast, I think,

was in the hundredth year of the T Every single winning engine

or lap record machine

came out of this workshop.

You know Guy I think, has got

the best bikes he ever could.

I shall obviously do my best

and Guy obviously will put

the finishing touches to it.

If he's happy, he'll be there.

I have every confidence

that if things work in our favour

we 're going to come away with a result.

One thing I'm concerned about is

we mustn't start thinking it's our turn.

Cos it never is your turn.

But I think the ingredients are right

if they're mixed properly.

Northern Ireland's

North West 200 race meeting

also takes place on public roads

and is the very last chance to get

the bikes ready for the T Heads down

for the lights above the track

and when they go out

this race will be underway.

And Michael Dunlop's

been mugged, hasn't he!

Onboard

with Michael Dunlop, then,

just looking what was

going on in front of him.

There you see him,

coming down over the hill.

165 miles an hour!

That's a man 's corner; that!

Michael Dunlop and his brother

William are the next generation

of a road racing dynasty

that began with their Uncle Joey

and father Robert Dunlop.

They were

the biggest road racers I think,

that the world has ever had.

So the inspiration I got

from them was just so much.

Growing up with two people,

you never seen them as heroes

or superstars, you just

see them as two normal people.

Joey blew out the competition

when in 2000, aged 49

he won a third hat trick of TT races.

He was killed three weeks later

in a little-known race in Estonia.

Over 50, 000 mourners

attended his funeral.

His brother Robert

was almost killed in 1998

when his rear wheel collapsed

in an accident at the T but raced for 10 more years

until his death in 2008

during the final practise lap

at the North West 200.

He knew the circuit,

he knew it well,

and a mechanical failure happened

and it happens to the best of riders.

It was a sad loss to the sport,

a sad loss to us, you know.

But for some reason, I just thought

that Saturday I wanted to ride the 250.

Tears of joy

and look at Michael Dunlop.

Two days after

witnessing his father's death,

Michael went on to win the race

and reduce the onlookers to tears.

What must be

going through his mind right now

because that was more than a race.

You're only a young man,

you know,

all you have for life is a bit of craic,

you know what I mean?

And you don't think you're gonna

have to bring on a lot of stuff

so I got turned from a boy into a man

in a very short space of time.

And I hope they're up there now,

and they're being looked after.

Conor Cummins!

Conor Cummins,

the Isle of Man rider;

he's fast, really very fast.

And he's down! Cummins is down!

I took the lead from Ryan, just as I

was coming out of the come;

the back end sort of stepped out on me

and high-sided me

over the top of the bike.

And I was really, really lucky

to come away unhurt there.

I just had to pick myself up,

dusted myself down,

and straight out on the bike

in the next race.

If you fall off a horse,

you get straight back on it.

Guy has taken a tumble, too.

I'm all right, I mean,

bloody hell, it's not bad, is it?

That's been, damn, l've just done...

I done that.

And me finger, can you see me finger?

Didn't keep me eye on the ball,

you know, so much going on.

And, yeah, my fault.

Hit the kerb on the inside and took

the front, ended up in the grass.

Bike was OK, we had to put a new...

What did we have to do?

What did we have to do?

Engine cover. Water hose.

I didn't wreck it.

Michael Dunlop,

that's Ryan Farquhar number 77...

Someone's blown up. That's Guy Martin.

Guy Martin, the engine has gone.

In the second race,

Guy over-revs the bike

and blows up his engine.

He's completely

out of the race.

This was

not a good meeting here,

as far as results are concerned.

We had a couple of things

that didn't go according to plan.

Aye, "a couple"? A bit more

than a couple, but yeah.

It has been a learning curve.

You may think

we 're a bit old to be learning,

but we're still learning.

The upside, Guy will go

to the TT with that bike

and two brand new engines, brand new.

Speed's not bad, need to work

on speed a little bit, but it's not bad.

Stability's good, handling's good,

tyres are good,

there 's a few issues,

but we're happy now.

I'm going, and my ferry's

booked. I'm going in the camper

because otherwise you're sat at home.

You know you're sat at home,

twiddling your thumbs.

You know, waiting for a phone call.

So you might as well

be there, among it all.

- You lock the door?

- Yeah.

For over 100 years,

the Isle of Man

has attracted riders and race fans

to watch their heroes

race the mountain course.

The modest prize money means

that this close knit band of brothers

ride purely for the love of the sport

and the glory of winning.

If you're born on the Isle of Man

you're sort of brought up

with motorbikes and races.

You've got the island

going from black and white,

quiet, rural country roads.

All of a sudden they've got teams

of bikers going down them.

its just lovely to see

the island come alive.

Stories, nothing but stories.

Spinning away

to the height of their glory.

It's a festival.

it's a coming together of everyone

who appreciates motorcycling

The stories that are told,

as you sit at the hedge,

or the marshals

in groups around the island,

are all lived and relived every year.

And we never get tired of swapping them.

Let's just say there's a large

segment of the motorcycling population

in America that knows

well about the TT, as I do,

and probably have put it on their,

what we call a bucket list,

things to do before you kick the bucket.

To go to the TT and that's why I'm here.

I had the opportunity to come.

It's something I've always wanted to do.

My father and I talked

about coming here together

for years and never did.

He's passed away, so it's on me to come

and enjoy the experience

and share it with him

however I can later on perhaps.

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