Thomas Altendorfer: “Excited? Absolutely! Nervous? Maybe a bit.”

Simply being accepted by the organisers is a success in itself, as the list of riders hoping to compete in the Manx Grand Prix on the Isle of Man is miles long every year. Austrian Thomas Altendorfer is one of the newcomers who will be facing his baptism of fire this year on the infamous Snaefell Mountain Course. He is thus following in the footsteps of his compatriot Julian Trummer, who finished second in the Newcomer A race in 2016.

The Upper Austrian, for whom a childhood dream is set to come true in a few days’ time, is already counting down the hours until he sets off for the small island between Great Britain and Ireland, where he can prove that he’s done his homework: “A few months ago, the Isle of Man still felt so far away. Now I’m already counting down the hours. Excited? Absolutely! Nervous? Maybe a bit. Ready? One hundred per cent!”

“Today’s my last day at work, then it’s finally time to set off!” says the 29-year-old mechatronics engineer from Walding, who will be tackling the highlight of the season wearing a special helmet design wrapped by Lukas Neumann, as he shares his plan of action with his fans. “The final preparations are underway, the bags are packed and, after months of planning, it’s slowly becoming a reality. After all the training, testing, organising and waiting, the time has finally come.”

Das spezielle Helmdesign von Thomas Altendorfer für den Manx GP

Foto: Facebook/Altendorfer

Altendorfer, who has spent countless hours memorising the track layout using on-board videos, is arriving at the Manx GP fully prepared. “David Datzer has given me lots of tips, and I’ve now completed between 60 and 80 laps in the car. During my last visit to the Isle of Man, I had the opportunity to do a lap with the legendary Milky Qualye. That was informative and instructive.”

“With Brian McCormack, my team manager, who’s competing in the Classic TT, I’m sure I’ll also have the chance to give the circuit a final thorough study before the first practice session. Hopefully, qualifying won’t be a problem. Of the 75 riders entered, 60 will be admitted to the race. An average speed of 103 miles per hour is required. My target for qualifying is 105 to 110 miles. We’ll see how things go in the race.”

Manx Grand Prix and Classic TT schedule