Isle of Man TT Mountain Course 2025

Pits, grandstand and start/finish

Cronk-y-Voddy

Road riding is my thing, not track days, so when the forecasts looked fine for a ride round the TT Course on the Isle of Man, I was happy and excited to book the trip.

The MV Manxman ferry from Heysham had a good few bikes loaded as it’s the run-up to the Manx GP but the TT Grandstand area was quiet when I got there first thing next morning. The Mountain Course was open for two-way traffic, its surface in race condition and the hazard markers in place for the riders.
Like I do on the Alpine cols, one lap first for sighting, then a run. We’ve seen the Mountain Course on TV but it’s different when it’s coming at you through your own visor. It’s a fast road with almost everything: humps, curves of all cambers plus an uphill hairpin, straights and dips, in and out of woodland shade, wind, railway crossing etc so really satisfying to ride. But also exhausting: the challenges keep on coming.
Wringing the neck of my Ninja Z250SL is exhilarating but doesn’t need fantastic speed, the advantage of riding a Lightweight class sportsbike, just 250 cc.
Great to see so many sportsbikes everywhere on the Isle of Man roads, with car drivers aware and sympathetic to bikes. Quite different to most of the UK. Many classic bikes on the road including two-stroke bikes - I recognised several RD250 - and smelt again the distinctive two-stroke exhaust. No KH250 sighting though, the Kawasaki two-stroke triple that I passed my road licence test on.

Ballaugh Bridge