After the wheelie on the crest exiting the Rhencullen section, you're now into the Bishopscourt section. You're in 6th gear and accelerating downhill. This segment from Rhencullen to Ballaugh Bridge is one of the fastest sections of bends on the Course and it's vital  to maintain speed through here if you're hoping for a decent lap time. Most of the bends are taken in 6th gear and many of them look very similar to one another. The bends don't have many distinguishing features so remembering where you are in relation to what comes next is often difficult. Newcomers find this section especially tricky. Remember – if in doubt, 'in slow, out fast'.

The only bend where you can't hold the bike in 6th gear is Alpine Cottage. There's a little more gradient to the corner than is readily apparent. As you approach the corner, come back to 5th gear and get the bike driving. You'll be able to change back up to 6th almost straight away on the exit of the bend but trying to hold the bike in 6th gear through the turn is actually slower as you'll have to roll off the gas and won't have acceleration on the exit to tighten the line. 

You need to get tight to the apexes all the way through the Bishopscourt section. It’s extremely high speed and backing off costs a lot of time. The only place between the exit of Rhencullen and the brake point for Ballaugh Bridge where you back off is Alpine, and even that is only momentarily to get the bike driving again.

As you come round the last right hander before Ballaugh village, have a look for a suitable brake marker. It's a real 'short circuit' type of bend that rewards riders who can brake hard. The bridge is obvious but there's little time to be gained by rushing it. Everyone gets air time over the bridge but be careful how you do it as the landing is hard on drivechains and suspension components. Try to remember also that if you're in the air, you're not driving. It's more important to be smooth and get on the gas as early as you can on the exit.

The left hander after the pub used to be a bit bumpy but is now lovely and smooth since it's been resurfaced – this is good news as you need to get on your way swiftly because you're heading into another fairly quick segment.

The exit of Ballaugh is a bit rough and you need to get the bike over to the right hand side of the road as it falls away a bit to the left of the white line. You'll be back up to top gear in no time heading into what is one of the most challenging places on the course – Ballacrye!

Ballacrye is a fast (6th gear) crest that absolutely demands concentration and the correct line – if there's anything wrong with your bike's handling or setup, here's where you're going to find out about it! There's a double apex left hander on the approach to Ballacrye which is taken in 6th gear. The real apex is the second one, not the first. As you come round the second apex, you need to get the bike upright just to the right of the white line. If you take the crest with the bike even slightly cranked over, you'll be in all sorts of bother all the way to Quarry Bends! Make sure that you hit the jump on an opening, NOT a closing, throttle.

I had trouble with Ballacrye for about 3 years because I’d followed the advice in the Nick Jefferies ‘On-Bike’ TT video, i.e. roll-off then roll-on as you cross the jump. This resulted in the bike frequently landing nosedown and throwing a massive wobble as it straightened itself out on the run on towards Quarry Bends. In ’99 I took the opportunity of asking the advice of the great Bob Jackson. His advice was to keep the power wound on all the way through the two left handers on the approach and all the way over the jump. You’ll need to be about two feet on the right hand side of the white line in the middle of the road as you approach the bump. As soon as you see the jump, bury your head under the bubble and grip the tank hard with your knees. The bike will still leave the ground but will tend to sit ‘taildown’ and land on the back wheel. Because you’ve kept the power on, the bike will carry a smooth wheelie on landing and the front will gently settle. Don’t worry about over-revving the engine as the revlimiter will protect it from anything untoward. It’s a huge buzz and definitely the best way I’ve found of tackling the jump.

If you manage to get it right, all the speed you carry over the crest will be taken down the straight to Quarry Bends, obviously saving you lots of time.

• Return to Course Notes page
• Rhencullen to Ballacrye