By Think of Croatian athletes, names that you automatically recognise include Real Madrid’s Luka Modric, skiers Ivica Kostelic/Janica Kostelic, discus thrower Sandra Perkovic, tennis players Marin Cilic, Goran Ivanisevic, Ivan Ljubicic.
Two, four-wheel racing wise, well-known names are at a premium including at the ‘Power and The Glory’ the Isle of Man TT. Newcomer this year, Loris Majcan, aims to change this.
Only the second Croatian TT racer over the past thirty years, (Emil Mokrovcak participant in 1997), his well decorated racing resume back home boasts two national Supersport Championships, outright lap records at Prize of Krizevci, Brod Open pure road races.
Backed for TT 2024 by BIHUI tools, Motul and several others, Majcan made his long-awaited TT competition debut yesterday.
Whilst he didn’t manage a timed lap during last evening’s qualifying session, his temperament, how he undertook first serious laps of the fabled, mythical Mountain Course, impressed rider liaison officer Richard ‘Milky’ Quayle.
Prior to beginning his first steps into real road racing’s toughest challenge, he stated to Road Racing News:
“It’s the most significant event in the world for me, I’m proud to go down Bray Hill on my bike, my private bike with my private team from back in Croatia, so, really looking forward to the first practice session.
It took us five days because we travel with an old Iveco van and we anticipated some problems, so left a little space for it to break down but it didn’t break down, so we two days of tourism at Dunkirk, in total five days journey wise, 2,700 kilometres but we managed to get here! It’s good fun.
You only get to be a newcomer once, so I’m looking forward to enjoying my first trip here and of course returning next year.”
Words by Stevie Rial #dontletfearcontrolyou
