Rolling up to the start line on Glencrutchery Road is an unsettling experience at the best of times. If you aren't nervous at the prospect of what is to come, you shouldn't even be there! The first thing to focus on is making a good clean start. Unlike a short circuit grid start, there's no need to worry about traffic in the first corner as the preceding pair are 10 seconds ahead and probably out of sight as you get away. Starting in pairs, the line depends to some extent on whether you're on the right or the left and, more importantly, whether you are behind or ahead of your starting partner after the first few yards. As there is really only one racing line, staying alongside whoever you start with isn't really a safe option. As you get away down Glencrutchery Road, there's a large evergreen hedge on the right hand side of the road and this is the first apex to aim for as you head down towards Bray Hill.



Even before reaching the top of Bray Hill, there is St. Ninian’s Crossroads to negotiate. This normally busy road junction is a bit bumpy in the middle due to the camber of the roads that comprise the crossing. You need to be accelerating across this junction in order to avoid having the bumps upset the steering. Paradoxically, it’s not the front suspension setting that is important here as you are attempting to lighten the front of the bike by accelerating; it’s the rear shock setting that is crucial, specifically the static sag. If the rear suspension is too hard, the bike will wobble violently as you crest the crossing.

Give the bars a tug to pull the front end up as you cross the junction at St. Ninian’s. This will help the bike to track smoothly all the way down Bray Hill.

Bray Hill itself is extremely quick and VERY steep. In the late 90’s it was resurfaced and is still fairly smooth. However, there are a number of small side roads leading into Bray Hill and each of these has a small ‘hump’ associated with it. Unfortunately, some of these humps are on what looks like the classic racing line and need to be avoided as they upset the handling of most bikes. Don’t run from kerb to kerb on the drop down the hill – try to leave yourself a couple of feet of leeway as you don’t want to be in the gutter if the bike starts to wobble!

At the bottom of Bray Hill it used to be commonplace to run very tight to the apex as many old TT videos testify but this is no longer the case. When the road was resurfaced, in the late 1990s, it was also re-profiled and getting too tight into the kerb causes a fairly violent wobble and will likely ground the bodywork on the right hand side. Instead, leave a couple of feet of clearance as it's much smoother and quicker.

It's important to get the bike upright fairly smartly after the apex as you are lining up for Ago's Leap.  As you line up for Ago's keep the throttle open as you approach the crest – most 600’s haven’t got enough power to flip the bike and modern suspension allows you to pull a fairly smooth power wheelie without encountering any handling problems. The last thing you want to be doing is shutting the throttle as this will lose you a load of speed and cost you vital seconds. The next crest at Selbourne Drive actually causes an even bigger, longer wheelie but the road is really smooth and it’s great fun!

As you pass Selbourne Drive your natural inclination is to look for a brake marker – DON’T! Come back one gear to 5th and get back on the throttle before the next road junction, which is Alexander Drive. Ideally, you need to trail a little bit of front brake in at this point just to check that you haven’t knocked the pads back into the calipers crossing the bumps at St. Ninian’s and Ago’s. There is a slight crest adjacent to Alexander Drive; you need to cross this crest under positive throttle control so that the bike takes a ‘tail down’ set. Otherwise the bike will kick the back end as you go over the crest and load the front just at the point where you ARE looking to slow down, causing a nasty wobble. Slightly further on, the road surface changes from very smooth to very bumpy just after you pass Alexander Drive – it’s a funny angled junction on the left just as you head down the hill under the trees. Use the right hand side of the road on approach to Quarterbridge before bringing the bike over to the left hand grass banking and taking a smooth sweep around the QB corner.

Races can't be won at Quarterbridge but they can certainly be lost. Don't go steaming into QB as though it's a short circuit corner, hard on the brakes with the back end of the bike hopping around. You're carrying a full fuel load and the tyres aren't really up to temperature on the edges. It's a busy road junction and there's frequently lots of road filth deposited on the surface as well as all sorts of painted markings that ideally you'd like to avoid. Pick a smooth line through the junction and look to get the bike upright and under way as safely as possible.

The run down to Braddan Bridge is basically a flat out charge. Look for the sign for the rugby club on the right hand side of the road and aim towards it. As you pass the sign you'll be able to see the junction in front of you. You need to be on the right hand side of the central lane to be correctly positioned for the first left hander. Too far to the right and you'll be losing time; too close in to the left and you'll apex far too early and lose time in the middle of Braddan Bridge.

The first left turn into Braddan Bridge is a very late apex. You come back  to 3rd gear (- possibly 2nd if you're running tall gearing) and get your shoulder in close to the railings. Remember that this is the first proper left hand corner after the start so your tyres aren't yet fully warmed! Run across the centre of the bridge parapet and flick into the right hand exit of the bridge – the camber will help you as it's a slight dip. The exit of Braddan has been substantially widened in the last few years and the main thing is to avoid the large number of white lines surrounding the mini-roundabout. Aim for the small wall on the left hand side of the road and get the bike upright and gas it.

The run out of Braddan through Snugborough to Union Mills is extremely fast. Get hard on the gas as soon as you’ve got the bike fully upright leaving Braddan. As you come over the crest, if you’re really on it, the bike will get just a little bit nose light. As you head into the dip you’ll need to be running up the right hand side of the road close to the kerb. Backshift one gear and aim for the wall on the left hand side of the road leading into Union Mills. As you come round the corner, you should be running parallel to the wall. Come back another gear into 4th and aim for the apex opposite the Railway Inn. From this point, you should be on a positive throttle so that you cross the bump in the middle of the bridge with the bike accelerating and the weight transferring rearwards.

As you cross the bump in the middle of the bridge, the bars will give a little waggle if you are accelerating. Keep the throttle open and accelerate into the dip past the old Post Office (- now a Spar store) and continue the bend on past the Shell filling station. It's all one long sweep and it's important to get a nice smooth run through here as this will set your speed up the Ballahutchin Straight towards Glen Vine.

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• Union Mills to Grebba Bridge