Hislop v Fogarty: the greatest TT

Hizzy v Foggy was one of the ages

The Isle of Man TT races continually produce the most dramatic racing, but the battle between Steve Hislop and Carl Fogarty in the 1992 Senior is considered by many to be the greatest ever.

It was a battle that was never meant to be. Hizzy and Foggy had previously been members of the mighty Honda Britain team. Both were masters of the mighty 37.73-mile Mountain course, with Hislop taking the Senior and Formula One TTs among his trio of wins in 1991, while Fogarty had won the two big bike races the year before.

Fogarty thought he’d left the TT behind as he embarked on a World Superbike career for which he would become famous, while Hislop had somewhat surprisingly split with Honda despite his 1991 successes.

But fate would see the pair battle it out one last time in 1992. Foggy’s privateer Ducati 888 was expensive to run in the world series, so the up-and-coming Lancastrian topped up his income with paid rides wherever he could get them. He rode a Kawasaki in world endurance racing, while Yamaha UK offered a cash sum for him to ride their Loctite sponsored OW01 at the TT.

That machine had become available after their contracted rider left after the opening round of the British championship. His name… Steve Hislop.

Hislop, the mercurial Scot, had eight TT wins and had joined Yamaha after his acrimonious split with Honda, but walked out on his new team claiming the equipment was not up to the spec promised.

A last minute deal was done to ride the quirky Norton rotary bike. Called the NRS588, it was known to be fast, but difficult to ride and very fragile. It had enjoyed some success on the short circuits but most of its previous TT outings had ended in breakdowns.

But Hislop had faith. He had to raise funds to go race, the plain white fairings eventually being adorned with the logos of last minute sponsors ABUS and various other industry backers.

A British bike hadn’t won a TT for over 30 years, and the second place he took in the week opening Formula One (behind Phillip McCallen on his old Honda) was something of a miracle in itself. What came in the blue riband Senior TT became legendary.

Fogarty started at number four, Hislop over a minute behind him at 19. The pair would never meet each other on the road, but as the TT is a time trial that would not matter. They were never more than seven-and-a-half seconds apart on corrected time as they gave everything they could.

Hislop had made some changes to the Norton for the Senior, fitting a bigger screen and going some way to sort out the wayward handling. The lead changed constantly between the two, Fogarty making up for the Yamaha’s lack of speed through sheer grit and determination.

The OW01 broke its exhaust but that didn’t stop the future four-time superbike champion from setting a new lap record of 123.61mph on the last lap, a record which would stand for seven years. Fogarty so nearly did it, but when Hislop crossed the line over a minute later he took the honours, completing the six laps and 228 miles less than four-and-a-half seconds behind.

It was a race which, even today, is regaled by all TT fans. Both riders had raced over the limit and both declared it would be their last TT. Fogarty stuck to his word, winning 59 world superbike races and becoming Britain’s most successful bike racer of the 1990s, before retiring through injury in 2000.

Hislop took a year out from the TT in 1993, before reuniting with Honda for his final two TT wins in 1994 – which this time was his last year on the island. He won two British superbike titles but died in a helicopter accident in 2002.