Slowly but surely, Royce’s situation is beginning to improve thanks to a dedicated exercise regime and plenty of rest.  He begins the first round of intense physio this week, hopefully providing rapid improvement.

Now well and truly settled in the Joey Dunlop Foundation House, Royce and his Mum, Debbie are keeping busy with visits to the physio, chemist and the occasional catch-up with friends when the weather permits. Royce’s new wheelchair is working a treat, allowing him easier access to slide in and out of bed, then back into the chair, plus the opportunity to wheel himself outside in the sun.

PIC: Back to the L-plates for Royce!

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To aid the healing process, Royce has also begun treatment in a hyperbaric chamber. Although there’s no scientific evidence of results, many top TT riders swear by the treatment which supposedly enhances the body’s natural healing process. The walk-in chamber increases atmospheric pressure, making it seem as though you’re metres under water.

PIC: Just like Back to the Future, Royce keeps trying to dial the exact coordinates into the hyperbaric chamber to return him one minute before the crash… no luck yet!

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When quizzed on the latest injury updates, Royce said, “My left leg is bending well, now hitting 110 degrees, which is as far as the brace allows. The right leg is very close to hitting 90, which would be amazing.

“My wrist is doing great. I’m starting to do some light weight-bearing, with mobility coming along nicely.

“After seeing a doctor and having more X-rays completed, it turns out the femur was such a big break that it’s still a few weeks away from starting to weight-bear. The left tibia however is ready for partial weight-bear, which will hopefully get myself and mum on-board a flight in November.”

In other news, the Isle of Man was rocked by Hurricane Ophelia. It tore trees down and ripped roofs off buildings. All flights and ferries were cancelled, while Royce attempted to use the breeze to propel his wheelchair down the driveway. He and Debbie also attended the ‘Mhelliah’, a fundraiser auction held by the Manx Grand Prix Supporters Club in aid of the Manx Grand Prix rescue helicopters, injured riders and their families. Royce bought some clothes, wine and a naughty calendar.

PIC: Royce with Andy Fenton at the Mhelliah fundraiser event recently

While it may seem like Groundhog Day in Noble’s Hospital for Royce and his mother, Debbie, slow progress is being made with his injuries and each milestone is getting the pair closer to returning home to Australia.

PIC: Royce getting vacuum-sealed before a shower – “You’ll stay fresh nigh three weeks, lad,” said local butcher, Paddy O’Reilly

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The hospital staff have been great in making Royce’s stay as comfortable as possible thus far. Since the last update, Royce’s right-leg can now bend at 50 degrees and his left an impressive 70. The two braces used on his legs have a notch at the knee which is moved a click at a time while Royce builds up strength and mobility. The cast on his right-wrist has now been removed, but is yet to bear weight with the hand and overall movement is still limited.

 

Had the accident happened back in Oz, now would be the time Royce could go home to relax before starting weight-bearing physio back at the hospital. Due to flight restrictions of being able to bend your legs 90 degrees and load-bear on at least one leg, it’s not possible. As there’s no real need for Royce to be taking up space in the hospital, the plan for the past fortnight has been to move him to the Joey Dunlop Foundation (JDF) House, which is now happening tomorrow. It’s been a long stay, but he’s excited about a change of scenery.

PIC: The Joey Dunlop Foundation House at Braddan Bridge on the Isle of Man

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The JDF has been a great support to us in the past and does a lot for racing on the Isle of Man. The JDF accommodation at Braddan Bridge House is purpose built for less able lodgers to have somewhere to stay when the TT and Manx GP is on, or just when visiting the picturesque Isle. The rooms offer bed hoists and bathroom facilities are wheelchair friendly, so it will make for a comfortable and convenient stay. Royce will be sharing a room with mum, Debbie and has a service bell ready to ring when pillows need fluffing or soup needs cooling. Royce will still need to visit the hospital often once he begins weight-bearing physio, so the use of maxi-taxis will become a regular occurrence.

 

To make getting around easier, Royce has taken arrival of a new wheelchair that can be self-propelled by one arm. He can scoot around the hallways and will no doubt become stronger in his left arm – handy for the Ducati dry-clutch.

PIC: Royce’s first outing on his new set of wheels… just needs some performance parts for those long hallway straights

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Lots of people and organisations have been extremely generous in offering their best wishes and support to Royce and Debbie. There are too many to list, but dozens of locals have made the effort to come visit, support and assist in many ways. Even those abroad who have sent care packages, cards and flowers are all extremely appreciated.

 

In the coming weeks, we’ll have an update from Royce’s new digs and hopefully will be receiving good news about the leg recovery.

With all surgeries complete, Royce now begins the long road of recovery. While the staff at Aintree University Hospital have been fantastic, Royce has been moved back to Noble’s Hospital on the Isle of Man.

 

Taken by plane, similar to Australia’s Royal Flying Doctor Service, it was just a short flight to the Isle. Currently, the UK has a virus spreading through hospitals, so Royce has been given his own room just in case – which he’s obviously not complaining about!

PIC: While his arms and legs are beaten-up, Royce was very lucky not to sustain head or spinal injuries

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While the short flight was do-able, Royce can still not bear wait on his legs, so the risk of a blood-clot while on a flight back to Australia is far too high. The next month of recovery will involve purely resting up and basic exercises, before then beginning the next stage of rehab – upping movement and pushing to get muscles moving again.

 

Mother, Debbie took the ferry back over to the IOM to stay with Royce. She has been put up by our friends, the Kneens and can’t thank the family enough. The IOM has become a second home over recent years, so both Royce and Deb feel very welcomed and relieved to be back on the Island.

PIC: “Here comes the aeroplane…” – Nurse Beth

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Sadly, both Royce’s partner Beth and Father Les had to fly back home to Adelaide, Australia over the weekend. Beth has been a rock for Royce since the accident and hasn’t left his side. While the initial shock was extremely traumatic, Beth was fantastic in relaying information back home to family members and has since made sure Royce is comforted during a pretty scary time.

 

There will be slow headway made from here, but keep an eye out for updates on Royce’s progress.

After an eventful week, Royce has made it through all his planned surgeries and is on the long road to recovery. After initial scans at Noble’s Hospital, Isle of Man, Royce was air-lifted to Aintree University Hospital, Liverpool, to be seen by an orthopedic surgeon who diagnosed the exact injuries.

 

The operations on his legs lasted approximately seven hours, both knees being a lot worse than expected. Unfortunately, the right femur had been forced downwards, causing extensive damage to the knee cartilage. Although painful, it is far less life-threatening than the bone being pushed upwards internally. The wrist operation was also a success, but has left Royce in quite a bit of pain and almost fully bionic.

PIC: Royce is now a certified Scouser since being laid up in Liverpool the past fortnight

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With the body needing time to repair, Royce won’t be able to start bearing weight on his legs for a couple of months and most likely be in hospital for about three. That being said, physio has already begun with doctors getting him slowly to move limbs and sit up. For those that have been through significant injuries before, it’s understood that while being painful, this type of exercise will contribute to Royce getting back to full health sooner.

 

Going forward, the plan will be to move Royce back to Noble’s Hospital on the Isle of Man to begin his physio. We are just waiting for a med-flight and bed to become available which could be any number of days. The hospital staff have been fantastic, but from here on it really is up to Royce to push himself through recovery. The Rowe family have some great friends on the IOM, so residing there for the next few months will be much homelier for Royce and Mum, Debbie.

PIC: Team member Ali made Royce a Manx symbol medallion using the earthing-wire from the infamous lamp post

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The Triumph itself didn’t fair quite as well. The team needed an angle grinder just to get it to fit inside the crate ready to ship home. After recovering the wreck from Union Mills, telemetry on the bike shows the speed was approximately 160km/h at the point of impact with a force of minus 4.5 G’s.

 

PIC: What’s left of the lamp post at Union Mills

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Every spectator, ambo and marshall at the scene of the crash offered to help in any way they could when Les Rowe returned to the area to collect the bike – all were extremely glad to hear Royce was recovering well from what they described as a horrendous crash to witness. Well-wishes have flooded in from all around the globe, including the competing racers Royce was dicing with at the time. The team would like to thank everyone that has offered kind words, as every little bit helps and is appreciated by the family.

 

PIC: The rest of the Rowe Racing Team have now waved goodbye to the Isle for another year

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While there is a long road ahead, we’ll keep everyone updated on the latest improvements and movements from Royce. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, he’ll be back in Oz to spin a yarn on his 2017 Manx GP exploits.

During the early stages of the second lap in the Junior Manx GP race on Thursday morning, Royce was involved in an accident at Union Mills, a fast section of the Mountain Course.

 

Royce said he entered the left-hander into Union Mills a bit too quick. The front developed a wobble and he was forced wide onto the footpath, couldn’t bring it back and hit the telegraph pole. The pole snapped in half, bringing down live wires and scattering debris, which resulted in a red flag to the race. The bike was literally destroyed on impact, with nothing salvageable. All the witnesses believe Royce is the luckiest guy around to survive what they saw.

 

Parents Debbie and Les Rowe, along with Royce’s partner Beth, went straight to the hospital to find Royce in a fair bit of pain, but conscious and talking. He has a big break to the right fibia, a complex break of the left tibia and complex break of the right wrist. All up, it’s 24 fractures within the legs and wrist. The doctors found no head, spine or internal injuries, which is extremely lucky.

 

They couldn’t do anything at Nobles Hospital on the Island so he was air-lifted almost straight away to Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool. He’ll undergo surgery over there and they estimate that he’ll be in hospital there for a few months. Despite being in pain he was still in good spirits, and strongly wanted to tell everyone who has supported us ‘thanks’ and also said to say ‘sorry’.

 

The team went down to Union Mills to collect the bike after Royce had been flown out. When the spectators, ambo’s and marshalls discovered who they were, everyone was amazingly supportive, offering to do anything they could to help.

 

It was evident that Royce had generated a lot of admiration and respect from all who have seen him this last couple of weeks and all were of the opinion that he was a genuine champion of the Isle of Man circuit.

 

The team would like to thank everyone for their support at home in Oz and here in the Isle of Man. Thanks to the paramedics of the Phil Hogg Motorsport Rescue Service (an ambulance service for the TT and Manx GP in honour of Phil Hogg who passed away in the 1989 TT) and the staff at Nobles Hospital.

 

When more information comes to hand, we will keep you updated.

After a dreary Monday spent twiddling our thumbs to hear the inevitable cancellation of practice, the team were excited to see Tuesday had provided good weather – overcast all day but no rain.

 

The Lightweight/Junior/Senior practice had been reduced from two laps to one after Monday’s schedule was moved to Tuesday. The Newcomer’s race was also shortened, so our lap was scheduled for 7.40 pm.

 

This would at least allow the team to test the changes they had made to fuelling and suspension. More than one lap to gauge the changes was really necessary, but the team decided they could work around it.

PIC: Royce taking in some advice from the legendary ‘Milky’ Quayle

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Unfortunately, there was an incident in the Newcomers race which halted procedures. As the light started to disappear, the team were told practice would not go ahead due to the long delays. Because of this, the team have had to make some educated guesses and Royce won’t see how the bike handles until the Junior race tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.

 

One thing the team could do was test the pit lane limiter, which was conducted on the road in front of Ballacain Cottages where we’re staying. Marshall Les was stationed at one end of the road and Marshall Pete at the other, making it reasonably safe and able to stop cars when Royce was doing the runs. The team also practiced pit stops, an area they excelled in last year thanks to some innovative fuel cap engineering.

PIC: Royce testing the pit limiter on country roads – competitors are actually allowed to ride their race machines an hour before and after race time… fantastic!

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The team is hoping for good weather and a reasonably well-handling bike. The Manx GP always provides a bit of a rollercoaster ride for competitors, so fingers crossed it’s our day to go up tomorrow.

PIC: Rowe Racing practicing the all important pit stop

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For those wanting to catch all the action, details on how to watch live timing are on Sunday’s blog post. Wednesday sees Royce compete in the Junior Manx Grand Prix Race at 10.15am IOM time, then the Lightweight Manx Grand Prix Race at 1.15pm IOM time. Of course, these times are subject to (lots of) change.

After a relaxing Sunday taking in the ambience and rolling green hills that cover Ellan Vannin, the team were chomping at the bit to sort the Triumph’s issues at Monday night practice. Unfortunately, there’s a reason those hills are so green – hourly delays dragged on through the afternoon, until finally race control made the decision to call off practice due to relentless rain.

PIC: The team checking out a high-speed option for next year’s race

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The team had two laps of practice scheduled, which were really needed to try and resolve handling issues.

It didn’t look like practice would happen on Tuesday, as the roads usually remain open for locals before the full closure on Wednesday race day. If that was the case, the team would have to revert to the last settings used on the Triumph as at least Royce knows how the Triumph handled then.

PIC: With some free time up his sleeves, Royce visited the fairies for luck

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Fortunately, organisers have rescheduled the whole of Monday to Tuesday. So, all the classic races will go ahead and we will have practice at 7.40pm IOM time. While this is good news, due to time constraints the practice will incorporate all classes, meaning heavy traffic and the lost opportunity to further practice on the Ducati considering the Triumph takes priority.

As well as this, only one lap has been allocated. This is far from ideal as the bike still had some issues at high speeds. But, we’ve learnt to roll with the punches over here!

PIC: The team when they first arrived… all sun and smiles

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After practice, the team will start preparing both bikes for Wednesday’s racing. It’s going to be a long day for Royce, having both the Lightweight and Junior race in the one day.

Just to add to the commotion, the team ran out of the oil we use and couldn’t source any on the Isle of Man, so our friend Ali scoured the mainland. She travelled from John O’ Groats to Lands End and managed to find some for us, then caught the midnight ferry from Liverpool to get it to us first thing this morning. This isn’t the first time Ali has come to the rescue. For those playing along at home, Ali was the hero last year that sourced a Ducati frame from England and brought it over on the ferry after Royce bent the previous one in a high-speed accident. Once again, thanks for saving our behinds, Ali!

PIC: We rewarded Ali for her efforts with a lap around the backyard on the Duke… what could go wrong?!

 

Saturday was always going to be hectic as it’s the big race day for the Classic TT, which runs in conjunction with the Manx GP. The Island had scored pleasant weather conditions and while the classic racing commenced, we prepared for the Manx Grand Prix qualifying sessions scheduled to take place in between races.

PIC: Two great minds: Royce Rowe and the infamous George Shuttleworth, Speed Demon

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We were on track with the Triumph at about midday, which finally provided a semi-normal listening hour for fans back home. The Ducati went out at about 7pm, so it made for a long day.

PIC: Royce starting to feel at home on the Trumpy (Credit: Tracey’s Pictures)

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We’re getting closer to having the Triumph’s handling sorted but Royce is experiencing some problems at high speed. The team have a couple of solutions in mind but have to wait for final practice on Monday to try them out.

PIC: Royce passing through Gooseneck (Credit: Steve McDonald Photography)

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At home on short tracks, it’s easy to send Royce out to do a couple of laps, come back in, make a few adjustments and then send him back out again, therefore solving these problems quickly. At the Isle Man, we have to get the feedback and then wait until the next day to test the changes.

The improvements with the Triumph have shown up in lap times, however, with Royce posting a 119.69mph lap, lifting him back to third in the Junior and fourth in the Senior. This means Royce is knocking on the door of the exclusive ‘Tommy Club’. Entry is awarded only to the first 36 Manx GP competitors who lap in the 120mph bracket, created in honour of Tommy Clucas – the first rider to break that barrier, who sadly passed away at the age of 36.

PIC: Rowe Racing support crew watching from The Crosby pub

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The lap times of the top ten in the Junior/Senior are very close, Royce being half a second behind Jamie Williams and half a second in front of Barry Lee Evans, over the 37 and 3/4 miles.

Royce managed a 112mph lap on the Ducati, putting him third in the Lightweight class. After a long day, Royce said, “A step forward in the right direction for the Triumph was made today. The steering felt more comfortable, but going faster in straight-line speed has now presented more problems that need to be sorted next session. The Ducati is on song and I’m just working on corner speed. The straights all feel a little bit slow after getting off the bigger bike, but all is coming along nicely.”

PIC: The Ducati is performing well, as always (Credit: Tracey’s Pictures)

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Cam Donald was kind enough to approach Royce during the day to see how he was going, and as Royce described the problems we were experiencing, Cam offered some great advice from someone who knows the Mountain Circuit so well.

A highlight of the classic programme was Michael Dunlop doing a lap on a replica 500 Gilera 4 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Bob McIntyre’s first 100 mph lap of the circuit in 1957. There were plenty of parade laps throughout the day, including one involving Ben Birchall, of Birchall Brothers Racing, who took his dad out on the TT winning sidecar for his 70^th birthday. He had never ridden a sidecar before, so Ben surprised him by saying he’ll be swinging around the Isle of Man!

PIC: Team member Pete ‘Wylesy’ Wyles and Royce hounding TT legend Ben Birchall for a ride on the outfit in next year’s TT

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Tomorrow the team will make further changes to the Triumph to try out on Monday and prep the Ducati for its race on Wednesday, then a Sunday roast for lunch at the famous Creg Ny Baa pub.

 

HOW TO: WATCH LIVE TIMING

The best way to keep up with all the action from the Manx GP is by following live timing online. This website shows the riders passing through seven sections of the course, clocking their average speed and position in the race. There is also a button that will launch a media player for Manx Radio, which feeds live commentary for the event.

When no racing is happening, the page will be blank. You just need to provide an email address and name, then the page will automatically load.

The page is ttlive.iomtt.com/ or just Google ‘Manx GP live timing’ and click the ‘TT Live Sign-up’ page.

If you’re just interested in listening to the events, or enjoy songs of the swingin’ ’60s, just Google ‘Manx Radio’ and click on the ‘Manx Radio TT’ link. This provides a schedule of events and a further link to ‘Listen Live’.

 

Getting further into the festival, the Rowe Racing Team has begun to see more fans around the paddock. It’s great to hear an Aussie accent abroad, so we thank everyone who has shown support, plus those keeping tabs via this blog!

PIC: Royce needs an extra push in the mornings to get out of bed, luckily Beth has arrived to keep him in line!

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The forecast wasn’t looking good on Friday, but with Manx Radio playing in the workshop, on-air presenters informed all competitors practice would be going ahead. We were lucky for most of the practice session until visibility on the Mountain deteriorated.

PIC: Once again, the Ballacain laundry has been transformed into a makeshift workshop for the Manx GP

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First out was the Triumph. The team had made a number of suspension changes and are still moving forward with finding the ideal settings. There’s definitely more work to do.

PIC: Royce had his work cut out for him on the Trumpy (Credit: Tracey’s Pictures)

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Our biggest problem was changing the steering damper. The original was causing concern so we put another damper on, which failed shortly into the first lap. Royce persisted and still stayed out for two laps but the bike was difficult to control as the front wheel was flapping from lock to lock. Despite the handling issues, Royce posted a 117.5mph lap which slotted him at seventh fastest for the Junior and ninth for the Senior.

We have changed the damper and made further suspension changes, so tomorrow will show if we’re better off. There could be other teams going through similar issues who are yet to show their full potential on the time sheets, which all adds to the excitement and drama of race day on the Isle of Man.

PIC: Mountain visibility can change from clear as day to pea soup within a lap

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As visibility worsened the session was shortened, meaning Royce was still out on the Triumph when the session for the Ducati had started. When he came in, Royce gave a quick debrief on the issues to the team mechanics before then jumping straight on the Ducati, setting out 15 minutes late.

Royce only got to Union Mills when the session was red flagged due to an incident on the Mountain. This means all riders must stop wherever they are on the course.

PIC: Close competition through Sulby Bridge (Credit: Steve McDonald Photography)

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Royce was amongst five or six riders who were ushered off the track at Union Mills. One rider seemed to know where he was and where to go, so Royce followed the group which wound its way through the back roads to Douglas, then along the Promenade and back to the pits, weaving through peak hour traffic and at one stage riding behind a police van.

There’s not too many places in the world you can ride a fully-blown race bike through the main street without turning heads. The team plan to bring this revelation back home and have Royce wheelie the Duke through Rundle Mall on his way to Mallala next month.

PIC: The Trumpy became harder and harder to handle throughout the session (Credit: Nick Wheeler)

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After an eventful night, Royce said, “After the change in steering dampers, which we thought was going to be a step in the right direction, I was left wrestling the ‘bars for a lap – which was hard work!

“I only got about a minute on the Duke before the red flag came out and the session was abandoned. The spot we were halted was on a backstreet at Union Mills. I saw a couple riders head down the side street, assuming marshalls had ushered them that way. This turned into a half hour trip back to the pits via the docks and Douglas Promenade.

“At a set of traffic lights I pulled up next to a Classic racer I had been following and said, ‘I hope you know where you’re going, because I’ve got no idea!’

He replied in a thick Swedish accent to follow him and we made it back just fine. It all made for some great Go-Pro footage riding through the town – you wouldn’t experience anything like it anywhere else in the world!”

PIC: The team when first arriving on the Isle, which seems long ago now! (Credit: Tracey’s Pictures)

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We have another night of working late to try and improve matters and are out earlier tomorrow as Saturday practice for the Triumph is around midday (9pm EST), followed by the classic races and parade runs throughout the afternoon. The Ducati is out at about 6pm, which will hopefully (fingers crossed) give us the chance to string together a clean lap.

 

After a few misty days in a row, it finally looked like the team would be able to get out for some clear practice runs.

PIC: The (hazy) view from our accommodation at Ballacain Cottages

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Royce went out first on the Triumph, planning to make a mark on the Junior/Senior class. He only managed one lap and had to come in to make further adjustments, which were another improvement, but didn’t help lap times as it meant two standing starts.

PIC: Royce launches the Triumph over Ballaugh Bridge (Credit: Steve McDonald Photography)

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The team have a number of other changes to make yet – we’re still experimenting and learning at the moment – but hopefully we are moving in the right direction. There will be more changes on suspension settings as well as gearing tomorrow. Although the times could be better, this week is purely for getting the bike to a stage that Royce is comfortable he can give the Junior/Senior races his absolute best and be confident in the machine underneath him.

PIC: More adjustments for the Triumph overnight (Credit: Tracey’s Pictures)

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Of the two standing starts, his best time clocked on the Triumph was a 116mph lap. This time placed Royce in tenth position for both Senior and Junior classes, so the team look forward to him getting a flying lap in tonight’s practice to really gauge where he sits.

PIC: The Ducati was flying through Ballaugh Village last night (Credit: Steve McDonald Photography)

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Next, it was time for the Ducati. On the second lap, Royce was dicing with Victor Lopez Santos from Spain and Englishman Darren Cooper, both top riders. Positions were constantly changing between the three of them, until they reached the Mountain and found that the weather had closed in and fog covered that whole section. Yellow flags were displayed at every marshall station, meaning riders had to slow and could not pass. That pretty well signaled the end of the session as riders had to proceed under yellow flags. Unfortunately, we still haven’t had a flying lap on the Ducati. The best time clocked was 110.7mph, placing him at sixth. Victor Lopez Santos sits at the top of the table with a 111.9mph lap, showing just how close this race could be.

PIC: Royce chasing down the competition in the Lightweight class (Credit: Tracey’s Pictures)

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Tomorrow’s weather looks like it could go either way, so the team will have the vans packed and bikes tied down in anticipation. Friday evening practice signals the end of the normal practice week, with another set of laps to take place on Saturday lunchtime.