McCallen back for 2002 TT?

Phillip McCallen is considering a racing return to this year’s Isle of Man TT – almost four years after he was told one more race there could paralyse him.

McCallen, who won 11 TT victories between 1992 and ’98, is considering a “number of offers” to take on the challenging Mountain Course again, and he’s started training and riding again in preparation.

The 38-year-old Irishman said: “I’m considering racing again at the TT. I’ve had a lot of offers and the more you get the harder it is to turn them down. I genuinely still feel like I can be competitive. I have got a lot of things to think about before I make a final decision and it is not a decision I will be taking lightly.”

McCallen retired from racing in 1999, having failed to recover from a succession of serious injuries. He said in his autobiography that ” a return would be a recipe for disaster ” and he’d realised he was ‘kidding himself’ when entertaining thoughts of coming back.

It was a miracle that he was able to carry on racing in ’99 at all as his first injury setback came in 1998. He suffered a triple break in his back after crashing a Honda CBR600 at Thruxton and was banned by doctors from competing in the TT for fears he could be.

He then suffered serious muscle damage to a shoulder when he crashed a Yamaha R1 at Donington Park in 1999. He pulled out during the TT and was never seen on a race bike there again.

McCallen wouldn’t say what bike he is considering riding but it is thought that he would ride a bored out Tony Scott prepared RC45

See more on this story in MCN, out on Wednesday, February 20, 2002.

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