I have been up in my loft again, this time to look into bag 1989 to find items relevant to that year.

Agos leap was flattened !

Steve Hislop exceeded 120 in practice.

Trevor Nation rode the Norton (No.20) and crashed it on the start line setting off in practice (I was on the spot and saw it happen !)

Bill Ivys 125cc record was beaten by Micro Dunlop after 21 years gap.

Joey Dunlop was forced to miss 1989 due to injuries sustained at easter at Brands Hatch. He came to ride in the TT but failed his medical.

1989 was the Condom TT with Durex sponsoring the Suzukis.

All the bikes in the production classes were Japanese except for two Gilera Saturnos entered by S & S Motors of Castletown.

Georg Meier came back to celebrate his win on a BMW in 1939

AND MUCH MORE.................................................I have masses of stuff from that year.

and i lost a hero [phil mellor] and gained a son [joshua phillip mellor hall] . i know where my son is now, but i wonder where young thomas mellor is?
ade!
ps, i find it odd that nobody on here even mentioned joey's birthday. he would have been 57 last wednesday

Aye, Phil Mellor was special...

In 1989 I had taken over Ben Hines from Slough who hoped to ride in 1990 Manx, to be entered by me. We went down to the Quarter Bridge where Durex Suzuki were based in the garage to the left. I introduced Ben to Jamie Whitham and Phil and met up with Phil a few times after that and he spent a lot of time with Ben, talking the course. We went to the Villa Marina to the midweek Presentation but had to return home to get Ben back to work, unfortunately before the next days races. We said goodbye and thanked Phil, and we set out for the next ferry.

It was not until we arrived back in Slough that we heard Phil had crashed fatally.

Ben rode in the Manx in 1990 to commemorate Phils help and attention.

I first met Steve Hislop "properly" in 1989 when I was invited to do some media work with Honda.

Honda had a garage behind the hotels on the front and I went down to see the bikes and riders. Steve
and I chatted and I visited a few times to get info and pictures.

I kept up a good friendship with Steve and his house was opposite where I stay on the IOM.

Ian how is your book going?

ade! Wrote:and i lost a hero [phil mellor] and gained a son [joshua phillip mellor hall] . i know where my son is now, but i wonder where young thomas mellor is?
ade!
ps, i find it odd that nobody on here even mentioned joey's birthday. he would have been 57 last wednesday

Ade great to see you back check you pm;s ok

ade! Wrote:ps, i find it odd that nobody on here even mentioned joey's birthday. he would have been 57 last wednesday

the day was mentioned...................

http://www.ttwebsite.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=7715

I had that drink

Some great memories from 1989 and some sad ones as well. The 1989 TT was one I remember vividly, and it was a real mixed bag. Can I dare to question one detail in Ian's posting? I'm sure Trevor Nation was number 5 that year, with Steve Cull on the other Norton on number 8. There was a great shot of them on the TT video that year coming over the mountain together during the Formula 1 race - what a sound!

Two other 'classic' memories from that year. Jock West also rode the parade lap along with his 1939 rival Meier - he was 2nd to Meier in the 1939 Senior TT. The Parade Lap was held late on Friday evening after the Supersport 600 race, and conditions were cold and slightly damp. Not really ideal for riders of mature years who hadn't been round the TT course for many years!

And the second memory is of Luigi Taveri doing a lap on Mike Hailwood's Honda 6 after the Formula 1 race the following afternoon. This was part of Honda's 30th Anniversary TT celebrations. I was at Kirk Michael and you could hear the bike clearly all the way to Ramsey - fabulous stuff!

Ah, my book--------The manuscript is now bigger than "War and Peace" , but I still wonder if there would be any person out there willing (a) to publish it and then (b) be interested enough to buy it. They are but the ramblings of an old man who should know better after 63 years attending the TT. Most nostalgia has ceased to be saleable and I haven't ridden at the TT. Still, I am proud to have so many wonderful memories plus a loft full of junk, but letting complete strangers read it all, well I wonder if my memories should remain for me alone.

I used to write articles for the TT Programme and for the TT penny dreadfuls but as I say elsewhere, nowadays they get the young modern writers, re-hashing other peoples stories (including mine) and claiming them to be theirs. Lack of originality nowadays. And how many more wrongly captioned photos are we going to see ?

I do enjoy going up to Manx Radio for a chat but there are not many bikes with radios attached so our reminiscences only go into Manx homes.

There are a few people out there who are real TT fans and have "been there and seen it" first hand. It's time someone compiled a book after hearing THEIR stories ! Now that would be a thick thome.

I also quote again this year the story about some fans at Crosby to whom I was talking a couple of years ago. None of them really knew who Hailwood was, they hadn't heard of John Surtees and other famous riders from not so far back, and didn't appreciate what the TT history was all about. It's good having a TT museum now and I hope everyone is MADE to visit it, but it doesn't show it all, or give people that feeling I feel when I come off the ferry in Douglas.

I've said enough - Can't fault what Paul and his team are doing to make it all so exciting but one of the team told me last year that no one really has time now to think about the past and the history of the races.

I'm sure we all must be pleased that the TT continues ever onward and upward (looks like a great entry this year !) and that there is so much to see and do while we are there.

I'll be there at the end of May, as usual, so you might like to see me in the Hilton one evening and agree or disagree with me.

Sorry if it is bad form to revive old threads, I signed up here because of this thread as I went to the '89 TT, and have very fond memories of my one and only journey to the isle, including a great pic of Carl Fogarty at The Gooseneck on his way to winning production 750. If I can find a suitable place I will post the photo and some memories of an incredible journey from Australia to the 'home of bike racing'

Cheers from Oz

Richard

1989 was my first year as a marshal. Barregarrow and Rhencullen.