Isle of Man TT: Rennie Scaysbrook to make 'dream' debut

Rennie Scaysbrook's father Jim rode the TT in the 1970s and 1980s

Isle of Man TT debutant Rennie Scaysbrook said it has been a "dream" to follow in his father's footsteps and race on the Mountain Course.

Scaysbrook's father Jim was a team-mate of motorsport legend Mike Hailwood and raced at three TTs during his career.

"I've had this dream of doing the TT ever since I found out that dad did it," said Scaysbrook.

The 37-year-old Australian is set to ride the two Supersport races for the PRF Racing team later this year.

He said his family was not "that pumped" when he told them of his intentions and they may have "put me in a suitcase and taken me back to Australia" if he'd attempted it 10 years ago.

Scaysbrook, whose day job is a motorsport journalist, began to believe he could realise his dream when he won at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado last year.

With the help of TT rider David Johnson, and TT & Motorsport development manager, Paul Phillips, Scaysbrook began speaking with teams.

Two opportunities fell through before he secured a place with Paul Rennie's PRF Racing, just days before the deadline for registration closed at the end of February.

Scaysbrook said the deal would "never have happened without Paul Phillips".

While negotiations were ongoing, Scaysbrook took the opportunity to visit the Isle of Man and examine the course.

He knows the course well from watching the event on VHS tapes in his youth and relentlessly playing a TT video game over the last year.

"It was pretty intimidating," he said. "It is basically every corner I've ever seen rolled into one.

"I can pick where I am on any point of the course but hitting it at speed it will be a different animal."

The Isle of Man TT will be held between 30 May and 13 June.