While Steve Hislop’s first race was at Croft in 1979, it wasn’t until 1983 that he decided to try his hand at road racing. His brother Garry had won the 350cc Newcomers’ race at the Manx Grand Prix in 1982 but was tragically killed in a race at Silloth just two months later.
Undeterred, Hizzy entered the event the following year (without telling his mother) and loved it from the very outset. He recalled: “The buzz of riding the mountain course was every bit as awesome as I’d hoped for. Racing flat-out on real roads without worrying about tractors, coppers, or anything coming the other way, is an amazing thrill, and that’s what attracts riders to the TT year after year, despite the dangers.”
In the same race that his brother had won the previous year, Hislop finished 2nd to Robert Dunlop, with Ian Lougher rounding out the podium in 3rd place. It hadn’t been an easy ride though, as Steve explained. “After just five miles my back brake faded to practically nothing, then the wadding in my exhaust blew out, making the bike go flat. And as if that wasn’t enough, the chain started seizing up because it was too hot. The vibration from that in turn split the frame in some parts and, on top of that, my fairing had worked its way loose and was hanging off by the end of the race!”
