So I managed to convince the Missus to come and watch practice at the Manx GP with me. She said "OK as long as they've got seats"! Off we go to Hillberry grandstand - well a plank on a scaffold is a seat isn't it?
The newcomers who missed guided practice came through with a Marshall and then 10 minutes with no action. Next thing all the red flags go out and the helicopter goes up. Can only mean one thing, bad news for someone. As it turned out Brian Purdy crashed his 600 in School House corner on the approach to Ramsey, a super fast left hander that is so quick, a lot of riders have to use the bus stop on the right just to make the corner.
Fearing for the worst for Brian, it turned out from the Marshall's radio that he was actually relatively OK but his bike had burst into flames on impact and melted sections of the tarmac. Result, cancelled practice and we sat at Hillberry hoping for more practice action forlornly for two hours, getting eaten by a host of tiny flies.
Imagine the scene at Ramsey though, how frightening must that be seeing it first hand? Imagine if you were the next racer on the road coming round that left hander and on a classic race bike with clasic brakes.....OMG!
http://youtu.be/WVYL2V9X_C8