2015 Isle of Man TT Recap
Ahead of the 2015 Isle of Man TT – the 104th edition to be held on the iconic 37.73-mile Mountain Course first used at the 1911 TT – all eyes were on one man – John McGuinness.
The 43-year old Brit, nicknamed the “Morecambe Missile” due to his hometown and dedication to TT speed, entered this year’s two-week IOM TT festival with 21 TT wins. McGuinness was clearly on a mission, looking to match or break the late Joey Dunlop’s record of 26 TT wins – something many skeptics say will never happen.
McGuinness had further incentive this season, considering his previous outright lap record was broken by Bruce Anstey (Valvoline Honda CBR1000RR) during the 2014 Senior TT.
Though he didn’t match or break Joey Dunlop’s record, McGuinness is now two TTs closer. He left the 2015 TT with 23 TT wins after dominating the Senior TT aboard the Team Honda CBR1000RR SP, and the SES TT Zero race aboard a Team Mugen electric motorcycle nicknamed “Shinden Yon.”
And there’s more; McGuinness also reclaimed the outright Mountain Course lap record on the final lap of the Senior TT when the CBR pilot posted a 132.701mph. This creates extra anticipation for the 2016 Isle of Man TT, where McGuinness has another opportunity to break Joey Dunlop’s impressive TT record.
The other main story of the 2015 Isle of Man TT was the one of Ian Hutchinson – known as “Bingley Bullet.” Before this year’s TT, Hutchy had some complications.
Following the 2010 Isle of Man TT – where Hutchy become the only rider in history to sweep all the solo races – the 35-year old suffered a nasty crash during the 2010 Silverstone British Supersport race. During the wreck, he was run over, and sustained some serious leg damage.
He struggled for the next few years, racing off and on, but was finally up to full health for the 2015 Isle of Man TT. And his comeback story was glorious; Hutchinson added three more TTs to his rooster for a total of 11. He won both Monster Energy Supersport TT races (Team Traction Control YZF-R6) and the Royal London 360 Superstock TT (PBM Kawasaki).
As for the other two solo races, Valvoline Padgetts Honda’s Bruce Anstey earned the RST Superbike win – his 10th TT victory – and Ivan Lintin the Lightweight TT, which was the Lincolnshire natives debut TT win.
In the 2015 Isle of Man TT Sidecar TT races, Ben and Tom Birchall doubled, setting a record race time in the Sidecar 2 TT.
2015 Isle of Man TT Deaths
Unfortunately, the 2015 Isle of Man TT was struck by tragedy when newcomer Franck Petricola, 32, of France, was killed during qualifying.
Petricola became the 243rd rider to perish in both TT and Manx Grand Prix races since the events begin on the Isle of Man in 1911.
Petricola was also the third rider to perish at the Isle of Man TT since 2014. At the 2014 Isle of Man TT, two racers perished in single-motorcycle crashes on the Isle of Man – Bob Price and three-time World Supersport Champion Karl Harris.
Following are the podium finishers for each race of the 2015 Isle of Man TT, along with links to individual race coverage:
2015 Isle of Man TT RST Superbike TT Race Results (Sunday, June 7):
1. Bruce Anstey, Vavloline by Padgetts Honda CBR1000RR: Time – 01:45:29.902; Speed – 128.749mph
2. Ian Hutchinson, PBM Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja: 128.526mph
3. James Hillier, Quattro Plant Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja: 127.550mph
2015 Isle of Man TT Monster Energy Supersport 1 Race Results (Monday, June 8):
1. Ian Hutchinson, Team Traction Control Yamaha YZF-R6: 01:12.10.872, 125.451mph
2. Bruce Anstey, Valvolline by Padgetts Honda CBR100RR: 125.228mph
3. Gary Johnson, TBC Yamaha YZF-R6: 124.733mph
2015 Isle of Man TT Royal London 360 Superstock Race Results (Tuesday, June 9):
1. Ian Hutchinson, PBM Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja: 01:10:05.298, 129.197mph
2. Michael Dunlop, MD Racing BMW S1000RR: 128.673mph
3. Lee Johnston, East Coast Construction BMW S1000RR: 128.422mph
2015 Isle of Man TT SES TT Zero Results (Wednesday, June 10):
1. John McGuinness, Mugen: 18:58.743, 119.279mph
2. Bruce Anstey, Mugen: 118.857
3. Lee Johnston, Parking Racing Victory: 111.620mph
2015 Isle of Man TT Monster Energy Supersport 2 Race Results (Wednesday, June 10):
1. Ian Hutchinson, Team Traction Control Yamaha YZF-R6: 01:11:58.750, 125.803mph
2. Bruce Anstey, Valvoline by Padgetts Racing Honda CBR600RR: 125.373mph
3. Guy Martin, Smiths Racing Triumph 675R: 124.877mph
2015 Isle of Man TT Bennetts Lightweight TT Race Results (Friday, June 12):
1. Ivan Lintin, RC Express Racing Kawasaki: 57:06.070, 118.936mph
2. James Hillier, Quattro Plant Kawasaki: 118.802mph
3. Michael Rutter, Team ILR Paton: 117.657mph
2015 Isle of Man TT PokerStars Senior TT Race Results (Friday, June 12):
1. John McGuinness, Honda Racing CBR1000RR: 01:09:23.903, 130.481mph
2. James Hillier, Quattro Plant Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja: 130.038mph
3. Ian Hutchinson, PBM Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja: 129.832mph
2015 Isle of Man TT Sure Sidecar 1 Race Results (Monday, June 8):
1. Ben Birchall/Tom Birchall, LCR Manx Gas Racing: 58.39.776, 115.770mph
2. John Holden/Dan Sayle, LCR Barnes Racing: 114.982mph
3. Conrad Harrison/Mike Aylott, 113.961mph
2015 Isle of Man TT Sure Sidecar 2 Race Results (Wednesday, June 10):
1. Ben Birchall/Tom Birchall, LCR Manx Gas Racing: 58.24.971, 116.259mph
2. Dave Molyneux/Benjamin Binns, DMR Suzuki: 116.008mph
3. John Holden/Dan Syle, LCR Barnes Racing: 115.604mph
Photos by Wayne Freestone
2015 Isle of Man TT Recap Photo Gallery
What to say? I guess the risk goes with the territory, but it’s awfully sad to see someone go down on the course. RIP, Franck.
Kind of deceptive to state “…been run at the Isle of Man TT in 2015 to a podium finish…” without qualifying explanations. “…in the electric bike event, which is 18 minutes long, vs the real motorcycle races which last over an hour”