Have a go heroes: Run what ya brung sprint racing action returns to Ramsey seafront on the Isle of Man

Thousands of spectators have flocked to Ramsey’s Mooragh Promenade for two days of high-octane closed road motorcycle sprint racing.

Taking place on Sunday, June 5 and Tuesday, June 7 just a few minutes ride from the TT course, The Ramsey Sprint events saw riders compete on everything from modified stretched Hayabusas to Honda Z50R minibikes – all blasting down a 1/8 mile track to cheers from the enthusiastic crowds.

“It’s just a nice event,” organiser Trevor Duckworth told MCN, having helped resurrect the racing in 1978 with the National Sprint Association. He’s been coming back ever since.

“We get back from the TT each year and find we get an influx of interest at our normal events from people who have seen this.”

MCN attended Sunday’s scorching action, which saw 75 bikes take part and a winning time of 6.32 seconds. Tuesday was another sunny celebration and had a total of 90 riders with a best result of 6.19 seconds at 123mph.

Road riders were allowed to run their bikes up the strip as many times as they wanted for £35 on Sunday and then £40 on Tuesday. With the bikes competing alongside bespoke sprint racing machinery, the fees covered insurance, a day’s competition licence, and the costs of running the track. Bikes and kit were scrutineered before taking part.

Tuesday’s action split the riders down into 10 competitive classes, with the slightly curved track running parallel to the beach, with the island’s Snaefell Mountain lurking in the distance.

“There’s so much to do on the island and I wanted to try something different,” Notts-based TT visitor, Martin Feuz told MCN between blasts on his BMW K1300R.

“I was either going to be here today or going round the Mountain and I’m having too much fun here,” he joked. “I’m going to stay here until I run out of fuel!”

This was echoed by Mark Patman from Kirk Michael on the Isle of Man, who shares the 5.82 second course record aboard his tuned Kawasaki ZZR1400. He first raced the course in 2009.

“You can’t get better than this location,” he said. “If you’ve done a spot-on run you get the crowd going on the way back.”