129.930 mp/h!
The following is an analysis of the TT course section times. I hope that it can interest you as I have just posted it on another TT forum. The virtual absolute lap record corresponds now to an average speed of 129.93 mp/h. So the 130 mp/h limit that seemed an impossible thing for this TT edition, is now just virtually reached.
My opinion is that the increasing of the average speed on the TT course is not a good thing but it is not necessarily related to an increasing of the danger. It is not an easy thing to quantify it but probably the Windy corner improvement has meant at least a couple of seconds for lap. The main part of the outright has been obtained on the first 17 miles of the TT course, i.e in the Start-Ballaugh Bridge section. It is the fastest part of the TT course.
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The McGuinness SBK lap record had been 17:41.71. In today's Senior TT race John has smashed it with a fantastic 17:29.26. It's interesting to try and understand where on the TT course this improvement (12.45 sec.) has been possible. The analysis of the section times says us that:
Start-Glen Helen: 4:22.53 | 4:17.01. [-5.52 sec.]
Glen Helen-Ballaugh Bridge: 3:11.35 | 3:08.71 [-2.64 sec.]
Ballaugh Bridge-Ramsey Hairpin: 3:24.47 | 3:22.79 [-1.68 sec.]
Ramsey Hairpin-Bungalow: 3:17.68 | 3:17.51 [-0.17 sec.]
Bungalow-Cronk Ny Mona: 2:21.89 | 2:20.56 [-1.33 sec.]
Cronk Ny Mona-Finish: 1:04.26 | 1.02.68 [-1.58 sec.]
This shows unconfutably that the lap record was mostly built in the Start-Ballaugh Bridge section (it is 17 miles long), where John has been able to improve his previous lap record for ***8.16 sec.***. And it's interesting to observe that also the other top riders - Donald and Anstey above all - have sensibly improved their time in that TT course section.
Why do the TT riders have been *so* faster in that TT course section as much they had been during the saturday's TT SBK race? Is it only due to better course conditions? Or to a greeter confidence with the machine and the TT course?
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If we consider the best McGuinness last section time in the Senior TT race (59.61 sec. on lap 1) we have a personal virtual lap record of ***17:26.19*** for John McGuinness.
Last thing. The only riders apart from McGuinness to do a best section time have been:
Cameron Donald, Ballaugh Bridge-Ramsey Hairpin, lap 3, 3:22.15
Ian Lougher, Cronk Ny Mona-Finish, lap 5, 59.31
So, the table of the best 2006 TT course section times runs as follows:
Start-Glen Helen: 4:17.01, McGuinness, Senior TT lap 2
Glen Helen-Ballaugh Bridge: 3:08.71, McGuinness, Senior TT lap 2
Ballaugh Bridge-Ramsey Hairpin: 3:22.15, Donald, Senior TT lap 3
Ramsey Hairpin-Bungalow: 3.17.32, McGuinness, TT Superbike lap 1
Bungalow-Cronk Ny Mona: 2:20.56, McGuinness, Senior TT lap 2
Cronk Ny Mona-Finish: 59.31, Ian Lougher, Senior TT lap 5
This means an absolute virtual lap record of ***17.25.06***. That corresponds to an average speed of ***129.903*** mp/h!
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