IOM TT Mountain Course Wheelies
The Isle of Man TT Mountain Course is 37.73 miles long, and presents serious challenges every year to those brave enough to compete on the public-road race track at full speed.
But 12-time Trial World Champion Dougie Lampkin approached it from a different perspective—instead of raw speed, he was focused on wheelies. And this past weekend, Lampkin completed a feat that seemed impossible; he became the first person in history to wheelie the entire 37.73-mile Mountain Course.
The wheelie time aboard his Factory Vertigo trial bike? One hour and 35 minutes.
Lampkin proved what many people thought impossible–all live on Red Bull TV. His first attempt was postponed due to 55mph gale-force winds. But things calmed down, and Lampkin took off at 5 p.m. Sunday. He struggled in the beginning, and had to deal with 40mph winds in the Mountain section of the course, along with some heavy moisture typical of Isle of Man due to rain.
“Up to 10 times I came close to dropping and I thought I’d lost it twice. When you’ve lost your balance and your right leg comes off, you’re in massive trouble. I couldn’t rely on the rear brake at that speed,” Lampkin says.
Lampkin said it took months of preparation to complete the task: “I feel absolute massive relief. The build up to it, seven months of planning, everything that’s gone on like the nightmare with the weather yesterday and still strong winds today on top of the mountain, I was just hanging on really. It wasn’t over until a couple of meters from the end but that last couple of meters was just amazing.”
Speaking of wheelies at the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course, sponsor Red Bull says “Dougie’s Wheelie is the first live broadcast of a sporting event from an island synonymous with groundbreaking motorsports records. Viewers could attempt their own virtual wheelie on a specially created mobile game at dougie.redbull.tv during the broadcast. Posting their results via social media, a leaderboard ran throughout Lampkin’s attempt with Arno Cotman from Belgium declared champion as the show ended.”
Dougie’s Wheelie is now available as VOD on redbull.tv or via the Red Bull TV app.
