The section after Kerromoar past the Highways Department yard at Glen Duff is really bumpy. Using a conventional racing line is difficult because the road has a very pronounced camber and you can easily be sucked into the gutter. To add to that, there are a couple of bumps which kick the front end of the bike up in the air in a rather unexpected fashion. It's a 5th and 6th gear section where good time can be made but your handling and setup has to be absolutely spot on. Stability is more important than anything else so the bike needs to be setup with quite light compression damping and a bit more rebound damping than is the norm for short circuit racing.

After the council yard, there are a couple of left hand kinks, the second of which needs to be taken as tight to the kerb as you can manage. This brings you into a fast right hander past the railings on the way into Glentramman. As you come round the right hander, make sure you're on the right hand side of the white line as this is another place where the camber can really mess you up if you drift to the left. You'll need to come back at least 2 gears to 3rd for the left that is Glentramman. The bend itself is reasonably smooth and you can dangle your knee over the kerb at the apex; on the exit of the bend, use all the road and drift out wide to the padded wall before picking the bike up and firing it round the next sequence of bends. Most of these can be ridden pretty much as you see them as the line is obvious.

The exception to that last remark is the corner by the tree – the kerb sticks out a very long way but someone has painted a large letter K on the tree and it's easy to spot. Legend has it that one of Mike Hailwood’s mechanics painted the letter back in the 60’s – whether that’s true or not, I don’t know. Every year it seems to get a fresh lick of paint and once you've noted it, you'll not forget it!

The ensuing section through Sky Hill Wood is really rough and the fast right hander under the trees is particularly bumpy. Hold the bike tight on the right and avoid the adverse camber and you'll be OK for the next left. Use the camber in the left hand gutter to help get you through the bend. As you come out from under the trees, the tarmac smooths out and you can see Milntown Cottage in front of you.

Milntown Cottage is the right hander immediately followed by the left – pay careful attention to your line here. Get in tight to the grass banking at the right hander otherwise you'll run very close to the kerb on the left hander of the exit - it's a pretty quick corner and you'll be in 5th gear. There's a short straight after the left and then there's Glen Auldyn Bridge – use the upshift to 6th gear to kill the wheelie over the bridge. As the front end comes down, aim for the wall on the right and throw the bike into the corner.

All the preceding section is fairly ripply and bumpy and is the most tiring section of the circuit to ride at race speed. It also has the dubious distinction of being one of the most dangerous sections, especially during the days when morning practice sessions were run and the sun could be absolutely dazzling. The road really smoothes out just after this - the run in to School House Corner is really smooth and the change in road surface quality is very noticeable. I’ve heard it said on more than one occasion that if you’re not suffering handling problems on the Kerromoar to Milntown Cottage section, you’re not going fast enough!

The next big corner is called School House and there are a couple of different ways of tackling it – you can use either the brakes or engine braking.  My preferred way is to come back two gears for School House Corner and try not to use heavy braking – that way the suspension can soak up the bumps. Get on the gas and drive it through the corner using acceleration to tighten the line and avoiding the bump on the exit on the right hand side of the road. There's a layby on the right side ofthe road but I've never used it and it's doubtful if you could as you'd be way off line if you ran that wide.

You should be in 4th gear and the approach to Parliament Square is a straight run. Pick a braking marker that suits you after the crossroads and brake hard, bringing the bike back to either 1st or 2nd for the very slow corner entering into the square. After travelling so fast for so long, it feels like a walking pace corner but remember that road traffic can make the surface a bit dirty and slippery.

As you pick the bike up out of the corner, get the power on and round the left hand kink opposite the filling station. It's a pretty straight run up to May Hill but the camber on the left side of the road is steep so you'll have to stay more or less in the middle of the road.

• Return to Course Notes page
• Ramsey to Gutheries