With the 2016 Isle of Man TT races now underway, we’ll keep you updated throughout with the progress of the Devitt RC Express Racing team. Ivan Lintin, winner of last year’s Lightweight TT race, was out on track on Saturday evening and this is his account of how it all went.
“It was a really good first night and good to not only get out in the sun but also get some solid laps in on the Supersport and Lightweight bikes. I love the first night of practice as it always reminds you of how special the place is when you set off down Glencrutchery Road for the first time again.”
“My first lap on the 600 was close to 118mph, which I was pleased with as I hadn’t even done a lap in the car – it was literally my first lap around the course since the Classic TT last September. Everything soon comes rushing back to you although I did find some of the sections that had been resurfaced, particularly Sarah’s Cottage and the Waterworks, to be quite slippy.”
“I did two laps on the bike with a best of 118.584mph, which placed me 13th fastest on the night but we were quite a way off with the suspension. Scarborough and the North West 200 are very different circuits so we’ve got a fair bit of work to do.”
“After that I jumped on the little Lightweight bike and concentrated on that for the remainder of the night, getting three laps in total completed, the best being 116.773mph which put me fastest on the night. Some riders neglect the Twin a little bit but it’s my strongest class and the one where I have the best chance of a win or podium so that’s my focus.”
“I’m not riding the Superbike this year as the ZX-10R Kawasaki is that good in Superstock trim I’m confident I can perform as good on that. I’m not far enough down the line with my development to get the best out of a Superbike plus it means I’ve only got three bikes to concentrate on instead of four. It’s one less bike to think about so I’m hoping it will play into our hands.”
“The evening was fairly straightforward although I did hit a bird just after the Gooseneck so the Manx wildlife has already started to take a hit. It got wedged into the airbox and radiator so it wasn’t a nice job for the boys when I got back to the pits!”
“Overall, it was a really good night and I got five laps in total so we can start to look at fine-tuning the set-up of the bikes now to enable us to get closer to the speeds we want to be doing. It was just good to be back belting round the Isle of Man countryside in the sun again!”
Can Lintin hold on to his Lightweight TT title? Leave your comments below.
Having started watching motorcycle races all over the world form childhood, Phil Wain has been a freelance motorcycle journalist for 15 years and is features writer for a number of publications including BikeSport News and Classic Racer, having also been a regular contributor to MCN and MCN Sport. He is PR officer for a number of teams and riders at both the British Superbike Championship and International road races, including Smiths Triumph, Quattro Plant Kawasaki, John McGuinness, Ryan Farquhar and Keith Amor. He is also heavily involved with the Isle of Man TT Races, writing official press releases and race reports as well as providing ITV4 with statistical information.