At my first Manx I was heading down the Sulby Straight, pre resurfacing, at a good rate of knots when my Ducati went into a massive tank slapper, something it had never done before or since.

It was obviously only going to end one way when a quote from Ray Knight popped into my head re tankslappers 'stamp on the back brake'.

Excellent advice Ray, it worked. If only you had thought to add that it would be wise to pump the front brake to get the pads back in contact with the disc.

That years Manx ended in a rose bush in the front garden of the house at the end of the straight, after my first enthusiatic application of the brakes resulted in the lever coming back to the bars, as did the second and third.

On the bright side, the Ginger Hall were extremely welcoming, providing an ice bucket for my rapidly swelling wrist and several pints of bitter, for medicinal purposes only you understand.