Start to Mere Hairpin

On the starting grid, riders wait for the lights to change, drop the clutch and blast down the short straight towards Mere Hairpin, then its down through the gearbox, braking hard to literally walking pace negotiating the tight left-hand hairpin in bottom gear. On the first lap it is essential to be on the tight inside line to try and lead up the steep Quarry Hill.

When Jack Wood (the former Isle of Man TT Clerk of Course) visited Scarborough for the first time in 40 years, he watched the first lap of a Superbike race at Mere Hairpin and could not believe his eyes and was left speechless when the field charged around Mere Hairpin, clashing fairings, jockeying for position up Quarry Hill.

Telemetry data recorded on Ian Hutchinson’s, 1000 Hawk Kawasaki ZX10 superbike, during the 2008 September Gold Cup meeting, logged his machine as travelling at a speed of 109 mph through the start/finish area, on a flying lap.

 

Barry Sheene :

Because the first corner (Mere Hairpin) is so tight, I would always try my best to be fastest in practice, so as to line up on the left of the front row, get a good start and hug the left-hand verge all the way up to the first corner so that some numbskull didn’t end up centre-punching me. I might get third before the hairpin, but in any case it would be back to bottom gear and just sort of flop the thing on its side to get round the bend, which is extremely tight with an uphill exit. The first lap, I’d use the clutch on the way out, because staying on the inside on the approach I’d have made the corner much tighter than on a flying lap, where you could get more of a run at it; but after that if the bike was set up correctly, it would just motor out of the turn.

 

Robert Dunlop :

In the race you have to be aggressive from the start as it’s hard to beat the likes of Ian Lougher and Chris Palmer around here. It’s very important to get a good start down to Mere Hairpin, but you still have to be aware of people “T-boning” you from behind. I keep tight to the left-hand-side and try and make the others go round the outside of me, Ian Lougher did pass me round the outside once as I still struggle with my braking.

 

Guy Martin :

A short blast away from the grid and then hard on the brakes and down to bottom gear for Mere Hairpin, you then start the steep climb up Sheene's Rise. This section can be manic on the first lap, all arriving there together swapping paint and it's more intimate than you'd even be with your girlfriend. It's often really slippery on the exit of Mere Hairpin and the rear can spin up and suddenly grip.