My last outing on the brilliant Isle of Man, was sitting next to Adrian Drury in his Peugeot 106 GTi on the Manx National. Last time out, Ady had rolled the car, and I was told that sitting next to him is always an adventure.
Of course we had a fine old time, the weather was glorious, the recce went well and the car looked mint when it arrived. Scrutiny was straightforward so we were looking forward to getting on with the event. As it happened we had several mishaps in stage and the event concluded with me (head in notes) asking, Why are we slowing down? and getting the reply, Because the wheel has fallen off!
I'd fallen in love with the IOM on my first visit (a while ago now) helping a friend by doing management service. I was fortunate enough to rally on the island with Kevin Hasleden in his Mini on Rally Isle of Man in 2015 and 2016 and we were very proud to have won the Star of the Rally Award in 2015.
Of course, anyone who visits IOM can't fail to be aware of the island's TT heritage. I worked for Honda at the TT 2016 and another item got ticked off my personal bucket list.
But one of the best, best things about the island is the craic and the party. It's outstanding. No matter whether you are there for the rallying or the bikes, the atmosphere created by a gang of people getting together to do something they love is astonishing.
For me there that atmosphere always has a soundtrack running in the background and in particular, Dakota by the Sterophonics transports me there instantly. Can't wait to go back!