The Isle of Man TT has long been regarded as the most dangerous race in the world – a 37 and three-quarter mile mountain course with over 200 bends, lined with stone walls, telegraph poles and unforgiving cambers.
For former winner Steve Plater, its pull remains as powerful as ever, regarding it as an “annual pilgrimage”, a place he loves both for its racing and its quiet moments away from the paddock.
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But even for a rider who conquered the event, including a standout Senior TT victory, watching it back years later stirred unexpected emotion.
“I went back and watched my 2009 Senior success for the first time recently and it brings a tear to your eye,” he told the BBC Bikes Podcast.
“It really, really does.”
That success, Plater admits, only truly sank in once he stepped away from racing.
“Sometimes it’s when you hang up the leathers you actually really understand what you were able to achieve,” the 57 year-old continued.
“I must have been crackers.”
Despite his achievements, Plater is candid about the sheer peril of the TT.
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Standing trackside, he thinks the speeds look almost unimaginable.
“I think I must have been crackers – it looks so fast on the side of the road.”
Riders routinely exceed 200 miles per hour through tree-lined sections where flickering light and blind entries demand absolute precision.
According to Plater, the TT is “mentally demanding rather than physically”, a six-lap race that feels like “15 short circuits in one lap”.
Learning the course is an ordeal in itself.
“Some parts look the same, you need to understand what section is coming next,” he explains.
“Even with support from experienced mentors, nothing prepares newcomers for the reality of a full speed lap.”
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Plater, a former British Supersport champion, speaks openly about the nerves that accompany race day.
He would run on the morning of each race, using the solitude to settle himself. Even on the start line, he says, he answered TV interviewer questions on “autopilot”, his mind already deep in the lap ahead.
But once the flag twitches, everything changes and “you’re into work mode”.
The first miles, especially through Bray Hill with a full tank and cold tyres, remain the most unsettling.
“I hated Bray Hill; the bike’s unstable, it doesn’t like the road surface.”
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Trust in the machine, the team and perfect preparation for Plater was key.
Plater’s road racing career spanned every major international event from the North West 200 to the Ulster Grand Prix and Macau Grand Prix – and he won at all of them. But the success came at a cost.
He suffered several serious injuries, including a broken neck after a high speed crash at the North West 200. Remarkably, he was back racing just eight weeks later.
That determination, he says, was less bravery than the ingrained mindset of a racer – the instinct to get up, rebuild and go again.
His journey is all the more striking given where it began.
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Before racing, Plater worked as a bricklayer and “drinking, smoking and doing the naughty things you get up to”, but once he discovered competitive motorcycling at 26, he says he “never looked back”, a sentiment that underlines both the scale of his achievements and the resilience that carried him through the sport’s most dangerous moments.
Today Plater remains deeply involved in the sport, working with teams, supporting newcomers and hosting events. But the TT, where he works in the hospitality marquee, still holds a unique place in his life – a place of triumph, danger and enduring respect.
