Oh dear, my secrets out. I always look like that when Im p---ed, Barry !!!

Then of course there was 1977, I think, the year I fell off at Parliament Square, first lap, first practice session,and of course there had to be a bl--dy photographer stood waiting for someone to do it, didnt there!!! When Id got the bike sorted out I went out in morning practice and everything went ok, it was in the days when there used to be a practice report on Manx radio at about 9am. On listening to it the report went:-

Lt/wt practice

Fastest ------ -------- 250 Yamaha ----mph
2nd fastest ------ -------250 Yamaha--- mph
3rd fastest Colin Hammond 250 Bultaco 101.2mph!!

That was on the first lap when I was letting it warm up to Union Mills!!! The second lap was something like 86mph ( thats more like it).

Lee Heeson came running across to say he'd heard that Angel Nieto was coming over on the 1st plane to find out how to get these Bultos going properly!! It actually took them a whole day to figure out that perhaps they'd got it wrong !!!