ambassadors
Last weekend, Northern Ireland welcomed back the famous North West 200 road race – a spectacular nine-mile jaunt on a triangle shaped course flanking the North Atlantic. The TAS Racing Milwaukee BMW Motorrad team were back at the event, on its home turf, with seasoned road racer Ian Hutchinson. Team boss Philip Neil tells us how the weekend went and how it has helped their preparation for the Isle of Man TT in early June.
Philip, the North West 200 was on last weekend, and you welcomed back Ian Hutchinson into the saddle. How was the event for the team?
The North West 200 is one of our favourite events, being a local one for us. We’ve had a lot of success there over the years and have been lucky to have scored a total of 28 wins there. Saturday wasn’t an ideal day for us. It was a new experience with Ian back in the team after a few years' absence, as well as some of the differences with a new model of BMW bike. We were also quite limited in the track time we had with Ian in the build-up, which is nearly always the case if you’re not a full-time BSB rider because the NW200 comes quite early in the season. So, it means we’re testing and practising at the event. But we did find out some useful information, which will help us going into the Isle of Man TT. And I’m pleased to say Ian finished the day with a strong result in the last race, so we saw some progression.
How does Motul’s products continue to help you with road racing events like the North West?
The high speeds of the North West put a lot of demands on the engine. So, you do need the very best quality products, especially with engine oils. Which we’ve always had with Motul. A significant proportion of our race wins at the NW200 have come with Motul in the engines. We wouldn’t want to go anywhere else because of the demands put on the superbikes. We also achieved another nice accolade at the event: the fastest speed trap of 207.8mph. That’s very special. The bike is revving at over 14,000rpm at that point. Travelling at that speed you can appreciate the demands on the engine. That’s why you need the very best products and that’s exactly why we continue to use Motul. Getting the top speed at the event doesn’t win you any races, but it’s a nice accomplishment, and it’s the fastest we’ve ever been here, so it shows progression.
How does the North West help your team prepare for the Isle of Man TT, which is coming up at the end of the month?
It’s very important. Firstly, because you don’t get a lot of track time unless you’re a full-time BSB racer. Some of the competitors are, of course, but it’s a different kind of racing. The circuit racing isn’t an endurance test, so the first time we get a chance to replicate what we’ll do at the TT is at the North West. It is like a mini endurance race and if you’ve got teething problems, we will find them out here. Thankfully we didn’t have too many of them, but we’ve got a couple of issues and things we want to prepare and improve on the bike. Hopefully, weather permitting, we’ve got a lot of practice at the TT during the first week. So, we’ve got some time, we’ve got a good team, and Ian’s an experienced rider and knows what he wants from a bike now. We believe the package is as good as anything else at the TT. We’re looking forward to it.
Are the nerves starting to build now?
I think they started to build a few weeks ago [laughs]. It’s always a rush, no matter how long you’ve had to prepare. You’re constantly looking to evolve and get into granular detail to improve little things. But you always have to wait until you’re out on the track to understand whether the changes have worked or not. And that leaves an air of anticipation as you approach the event. The riders know how to prepare, and we try our best to get the set up right on the bike. We’re consistent in many things, and our engine oils and other Motul products are one thing we don’t need to worry about.
© Pictures: Pacemaker Press, Double Red Minder, Stephen Henderson
