Isle of Man TT: Road racing back on track after 'surreal' return last year

Dean Harrison is set to take part in six of the eight solo races at the 2023 Isle of Man TT

Road racing has bounced back "massively" following a two-year hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic, Isle of Man TT rider Dean Harrison has said.

The 34-year-old racer from Bradford said although the races returned last year, it had been "bit surreal" after the enforced break.

A three-time TT champion, Harrison is hoping to repeat the feat on the 37.7mile Mountain Course in 2023.

Racing at the event in 2022, he chalked up three second-place finishes.

Harrison said returning to racing on closed public roads had been "a bit surreal to start with" because "two years is a long time away from everything".

"It's hard to explain, it just felt a bit weird almost, you almost couldn't accept that you were back because of everything that's gone on," he said.

"Whereas now you've been back, done it, settled in it, you're sort of going back into a similar routine of what you had before all of the escapade went on."

Despite being in the mix for the win in several races last year he said he "wasn't in the best place", however that was not the case this year.

"I think there were a lot of other factors going on that made racing a bit difficult," he added.

"They're all I think put to bed now, I'm a little bit more relaxed, so I'm hoping that'll be enough to make the step."

Dean Harrison took second place in the 2022 Senior TT race

The 34-year-old is once again racing for DAO Kawasaki in the Superbike, Senior and Superstock TT races, but has switched to the Russel Racing Team Yamaha for the Supersport this year.

Explaining the change, he said the 600cc machine wasn't available from the DAO team this year and the Supersport was "really good fun to ride".

"I think it's quite an important thing to ride, especially if you get a little bit of inclement weather and they only send the 600s out, then you don't miss out on laps that you could have available to you," he said.

He said the atmosphere in the paddock was different from short-circuit events because "in the road race paddock people just want to be there".

"When you have enthusiasm behind something because you want to be there, the whole atmosphere changes," he said.

Reflecting on the potential deadly consequences of something going wrong he said: "The dangers in motorsport are never going to be not there.

"If this track was sat in the middle of the desert with tarmac and there was a run-off at every single corner, it was just open wide, it wouldn't be the Isle of Man TT, would it?"

Qualifying for the 2023 Isle of Man TT races starts on Monday, with the event due to continue until 10 June.