The two times of the year I'm glued to Instagram and Youtube are January, for the Dakar, and right now. At the end of every May and the start of every June, we gearheads drown in Isle of Man TT shorts and videos. It's almost unfair how many we get at once because it desensitizes us to how ridiculous each individual clip is.
What's even more impressive is, that although IOM TT videos have been on our radars for a long time, it's undeniable that they get better and better each year. I'm sure there are a multitude of reasons behind this including faster bikes, better-looking bikes, better camera technology, and new camera angles.
But this is the first time we've seen anything like this.
One of, if not the, best videos to come out of this year's IOM TT is a multi-angle view of a lap around the mountain course, ridden by 13-time winner Peter Hickman—the fastest rider to ever lap the TT.
I counted 10 different camera angles in this video. That's 2.2-3.3 pounds of action cameras nestled snugly into his BMW M1000RR, and they're worth their weight in gold. I've been watching IOM TT coverage for years, documentaries, and live road races, and never have I had the opportunity to see this level of rider input.
There are so many POV videos that'll send the hairs on your arms straight up, and others shot by spectators that'll put the fear of God into you, and almost make you want to look away. But for those who ride and want a deeper understanding of what it looks like for a TT rider to be so precise, delicate, and violent all at once, this video is the new gold standard.
And if you're not in the mood to dissect how the fastest TT rider of all time does his business, just watch it anyway and fall into an 18-minute trance. But if you run through it in detail, let us know what elements stood out to you. Tell us what you thought was special.
