Where legends live on..

TT Experience

Brian Larcom and I are old race friends of Steve Baker and are lucky enough to travel with him as guests to some classic events. Retirement from university teaching a year ago allowed the time to go to Finland in July and now the TT. My photos from Finland reflected a focus on the motorcycles first and the people second. I hadn’t seen, heard or smelled these bikes since the 1970s and there they were in my lens. Not only that but I was finally meeting the riders that rode them.

The TT this year was my second trip to the Island, the first in 1999. For many reasons this trip was a very different experience that was more centred on people and time. Every moment seemed to include some measure of time. The TT itself is based on time but it also provides moments where time spans a greater distance and comes together in the most wonderful ways.

Spending time with Peter Starr, whose footage of Mike Hailwood eventually resulted in my coming to the TT for the first time. Children having their first TT experiences, fans, connecting with their heroes from the past. One photo that caught six Yamaha champions on a sextet of fantastic YCRT motorcycles gridding for the Yamaha Parade Lap and Steve and Tommy Robb making eye contact as they gridded up.

The capper, for me, was a quiet moment when Steve Baker and Nicky Hayden met for the first time, right in front of my lens. The point of all this is to draw some connection between my TT experience this year and the structure of Classic Racer. Photos freeze moments, so we can take the time to see more of what was going on. Classic Racer manages to use text and photos to unpack those moments, motorcycles, people and time in a most engaging way.

If you have an interest in racing of the past, or what is going on with classic racing, you will find something that gives you one of those ‘wow’ moments. Congratulations for all of what you do for the sport.

Roger Germain
USA

Thank you Roger for your kind words, I feel very humble. It was a great pleasure to meet you at the TT and I hope our paths cross again.