James Hillier ‘I was just thinking about jumping off’

The luckiest escape of TT 2017 was James Hillier’s terrifying tank slapper at Ballagarey aboard his JG Speedfit Kawasaki on the opening lap of the Senior TT.

“I was halfway through the whole thing before I realised I was in a bit of a sticky situation,” the laidback Ringwood rider recalls.

The ZX-10RR yawed viciously at over 155mph as Hillier got out of shape on the stone wall-lined bend dubbed ‘Ballascarey’ by TT fans. “To be honest I was more of a passenger than anything else,” Hillier admits.

“I would like to take some of the credit for saving it though! I was relaxed and calm on the bike and because it was the first lap, with fresh rubber and a full of fuel tank on board, I was only maybe 97-98% committed to the corner.”

The 33-year-old is certain he would have crashed if he had been tense and rigid.

“I think staying supple is a good way to describe how you need to be on the bike,” he says. “People do ask me if I s**t myself when it all started to go wrong but the truth is everything happens so fast you don’t have time to get scared. Anyway, being scared wouldn’t have helped. I just had to deal with it.”

Hillier was unaware at the time that he had a faulty rear shock on the Kawasaki superbike.

“The shock had lost its damping and when I crossed a small crest in the middle of the road the bike didn’t like it,” he explains.

“The bike was probably past the point of saving until it left the ground. That actually gave it some time to settle, just as I was thinking about jumping off!”

When the Kawasaki got out of shape again further down the road at Crosby, the former Senior podium finisher knew there was a mechanical issue and eased off. Luckily for him, the race was stopped on the second lap after Ian Hutchinson crashed on the Mountain section and a four-lap restart followed as a result.

“I wasn’t going any slower on the restart,” says Hillier, who eventually finished fourth.

“If the Ballagarey moment had been my fault it would have been different but knowing it was a problem with the bike helped to settle my mind.

“You can either let something like that put you off or you can learn from it. I don’t think any racer would let it hamper them.”

Hillier admits he has harboured a fear of mechanical issues that might put events totally beyond his control, especially since finding that his Kawasaki had no brakes as he was on the approach to Union Mills a few years ago.

“I reached for the lever and there was nothing there,” he explains. “That was scary and you feel totally helpless. Ever since I use all of my senses to do little checks and listen for noises or feel any vibrations that might signal a problem with the bike.”