By “It’s the passion, it’s what we do every year, what we look forward to.” This quote alone sums up what racing the Mountain Course means to two-stroke racing expert Stuart Hall.
Third in the Lightweight Manx Grand Prix races of 2022 and 2024, he finished top Privateer from 250 Classic TT competition in 2017.
Racing again under his own teams Whippet Racing banner, on trusty TZ 250 Yamaha machinery, the Yorkshireman is hoping his four decades of racing experience with two-strokes will give him the chance to make it a podium finishes hat-trick on IOM shores.
“Having ridden two strokes since 1991, thirty odd years’ experience of riding two strokes, my dad raced two strokes from early 70’s so you add onto that another twenty years so between me and my dad we have got about fifty years’ experience of running fickle two strokes.
Touch wood that seems to be the thing that makes the difference over here, to finish first you’ve got to finish, it’s a race of attrition as you say.”
Eleven times a race winner in this decade at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough, Hall admitted it is a pinch me moment to be starting this year’s Lightweight Classic TT, ten seconds ahead of TT wins record holder Michael Dunlop.
“I’ve got Michael Dunlop starting behind me this year and I am a fan, and I am a Dunlop fan, so it’s a bit of a pinch me moment.
But according to Google, a bull can’t run as fast as a whippet so hopefully the whippet can outrun the bull! But if the whippet goes a bit slow it’s probably chasing the Rabbit at No.10 in Chris Moore.”
A podium finisher at NG Road Racing 250 rounds at Cadwell and Snetterton in the run-up to the Classic TT, Hall went onto disclose what he considers his favourite Mountain Course section.
“I think the real run that you’ve got from probably Ballacraine, the Glen Helen section is beautiful it’s picture post-card stuff through Glen Helen but then the run really to Kirk Michael from Glen Helen.
So, you’ve got the up and down of Glen Helen, the real closed in trees, the picture post card stuff and then you’ve got the real fast stuff that goes through the end of Cronk-y- Voddy, 11th, top of Barregarrow, thirteenth and for me that little section there captures everything about the Isle of Man for me, the high speed and the close in stuff, so it gives you a good impression of speed.”
Photo credit: Nick Wheeler
Words by Stevie Rial #dontletfearcontrolyou
