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Iconic Motorsport Adventures: 2017 Isle of Man TT Tour

25 February, 2018

 

 

The Isle of Man is a great place to visit, with its picturesque landscape and architecture, but come race week for the TT, it transforms into something else altogether. Iconic Motorsport Adventures took their first tour to the Isle of Man in 2017 for the premier TT (Tourist Trophy) event. It was added to the list of iconic tours that Iconic Motorsport Adventures offer, with the Isle of Man TT arguably the most iconic motorcycle event that is held worldwide. The 37-mile course has a grim history of being hard to tame and conquer, however it still draws riders from all around the globe wanting to carve their name in history as a TT champion.

The tour started at Flitwick, which is about an hour north of London, and after the first night’s meet and greet dinner and accommodation at the beautiful Flitwick Manor, it was time to start heading north. First stop was the Donington Museum, at Donington Park Motor Racing Circuit, for a look at their great collection of vehicles including a lot of Formula One cars. The next day was spent travelling over to the Isle of Man on the ferry from Heysham.

From there, the following day and night were spent around the pit and paddock area where final qualifying was watched from the pitlane grandstand. There were plenty of opportunities to spend time in the pits and get those sort after photos of their heroes. For the rest of the week the tour was based around Ramsey where there is generous space for the convoy to park their motorhomes and visit The Traff, the local Trafalgar Hotel, to catch up with some locals.

Each day that racing was on, a different spot was picked around the circuit for viewing. At Kirk-Michael the team got a fantastic front row position, while other top viewing spots included up on the mountain at “the Bungalow”, and right beside the course at Ramsey.

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On the lay-days when no racing took place, a visit to the Isle of Man Motor Museum at Jurby turned out to be surprisingly good. It houses a great collection of bikes but also a lot of cars and some quite unusual unique vehicles. A trip on the steam train to Port Erin and a drive to Peel Castle another day, also added to the overall tour.

They were able to cheer on the kiwis in person, with Isle of Man TT legend Bruce Anstey winning the TT Zero race, and the Lawrence brothers competing in the sidecar races.

After a week it was time to travel back to England on the ferry, and a visit to the National Motorcycle Museum which has one of the best collections of motorcycles anywhere in the world. A final night back at Flitwick Manor topped off what was a very successful tour.

For anyone that thinks the Iconic Motorsport Adventures Isle of Man TT Tour sounds like a bit of them, there are still places available for the 2018 Isle of Man TT Tour (May/June).

Check out all the details at iconicmsport.co.nz

Grand Routier — in the french tradition

10 July, 2025

Sitting in Paddy and Patsy Williams’ Dunedin garage is a stunning example of one of these rare French grand routier sedans. It is a 1949 four-door Lago-Record Factory Berline sedan, to give its full name. Daughter Cath let us know how proud she was of her dad, who had been tinkering away in his garage on this car for so many years.
Without exaggeration, it has been a mammoth task. I first saw this Talbot-Lago in mid 2019. The long-nosed, sweeping, curved four-door saloon, clothed in its misty green metallic paint, was quite breathtaking. There’s more than a little English influence in it, too, harking back to company owner Tony Lago’s involvement in the Clement-Talbot-Darracq era. The long front wings and bonnet, usually multi-louvred, highlighted with artful touches of chrome bling, are typical of the era, but these were indeed luxury length. Interiors provided leather-clad, armchair-style seating and ample legroom, with touches of wood and surprising details such as dainty childproof interior locks — a far cry from today’s lozenge boxes.
Paddy, a retired civil and structural engineer, knows his way around a lathe. He has a well-equipped garage-workshop to assist in any machining tasks along with his other passion for restoring classic motorcycles.

The Great River Road

4 July, 2025

A few years ago my family, knowing my fondness for driving, gave me the book Unforgettable Road Trips: Thirty-Six Drives of a Lifetime by Martin Derrick. Most of the road trips listed take less than a day in places like Scotland, Monaco, and Australia, plus one in New Zealand. Most of these places were too far to go just for a short drive but four of them would take several days. My interest was piqued, and those four drives were added to the bucket list. To date, I have done three of them: ‘Route 66’ (USA 21 days), ‘State Highway 6’ (NZ 10 days) and ‘The Great River Road’ (USA 22 days). You can drive all of them in less time, but you could also fly over them. We wanted a decent immersion in their charms.
The great river referred to is the Mississippi. While the name conjures the deep south, the river actually starts at the bottom of the great lakes, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico about 3800km later. The great road is more of a concept than a specific strip of tarmac, as you can drive down either side of the river on various routes. Regardless of which side you drive, time should be kept aside for detours to places such as Nashville, which is famous for something or other.