While MotoGP and the Isle of Man TT might both involve incredibly high-speed motorcycle racing, they’re two wholly different disciplines of the sport - with very different skillsets needed to race in a cutthroat pack on a track versus taking on the 37.73-mile Mountain circuit against the clock.
Despite those differences, though, there’s a huge amount of respect that flows both ways, as the 2025 MotoGP grid made abundantly clear at the Aragon Grand Prix.
With the TT now more accessible than ever thanks to social media and live TT coverage, it’s become something that a lot of them clearly follow closely - and want to visit whenever they can.
“I saw many videos and I really wanted to come,” explained Marco Bezzecchi, “but I had the Aprilia All Stars week so it was difficult for me. But I met a couple of riders last year at a Monster Energy event, and also some of them have come to the [VR46] Ranch a couple of times.
“I think they are completely out of their minds, but it’s amazing to see how much passion there is in the Isle of Man. The track is amazing, and they can remember everything of it.
“But also the people that watch are full of passion. I want to go there one day, to try and live by myself this experience. It’s already impressive from videos, and I don’t know what to expect from real life!”
With VR46 Academy boss Valentino Rossi not just a huge TT fan (and a past attendee at the race) but also good friends with TT legend John McGuinness, it’s no surprise that that love of the race has been passed onto his proteges, with Franco Morbidelli another who has the TT on his future bucket list.
“I love the Isle of Man,” he enthused. “I have great respect for those riders. They are a different kind of rider, a more ballsy kind of rider. They put more on the plate when they go racing.
“For sure there are some moments of the race where we do the same, but we do it in some moments and they do it all week long. I had a chance to get to know John McGuinness and it was a great pleasure. It would be nice one day to go one day and check it out.”
And while Morbidelli and Bezzecchi’s fellow Academy racer and double MotoGP world champion Pecco Bagnaia might not quite be as keen to get to the TT as they are, he says that he too is awed by what TT racers do.
“When I watch the footage of riders going at that speed,” he explained, “it is unbelievable. I was never riding my bike on the street, but now I have a [Ducati] Scrambler, and when I go reaching 80km/h [50mph] I’m scared to crash - so I don’t know how they manage this pressure.
“They have a huge pressure, much more than us. They know that a single little mistake can have a huge impact on their lives. I have a huge respect for them. It’s incredible.”
Another racer who has spoken openly in the past about how he feels like he could easily have been a TT racer in a different life is Pedro Acosta, with the Spaniard even teaming up with most successful TT racer of all time Michael Dunlop at Rossi’s ranch earlier this year for the 100km dei Campioni flat track race.
“I think that TT matches so well my way of life,” philosophised the KTM racer, “my way of thinking about life.
“I have the luck to meet McGuinness, Michael, [Peter] Hickman, many more guys. You can see how much they love the motorcycling world. When you see that they are with the other guys, how they even give each other a hug before going out to race, I am impressed.
“I think it matches a lot with my point of view in life.”
Not everybody is enamoured with the precarious nature of the race. Marc Marquez, who congratulated his employer Ducati on ending its win drought at the TT this year with Dunlop, also said: "Honestly speaking I respect a lot the riders that are competing there - but I don’t agree with the risks being taken."
But while the MotoGP grid might otherwise be filled with TT fans, there’s none quite as committed as Australian Jack Miller. A regular visitor to the Isle of Man in the past when friend Cal Crutchlow was a resident, he’s been before for TT - and has been keeping a close eye on racing this week.
“It’s been fantastic,” he told The Race. “The livestream has been unreal, I’ve been watching every day, and what Michael is doing has been fantastic. What Dean [Harrison] has been doing, the first flying lap of the week over 130mph, is f***ing unreal. The racing has been phenomenal.
“I was gutted to see Hicky get injured, but to see all the boys having a bit of luck, with Davey [Todd] getting a win as well, has been nice. Listening to Michael on the [Ducati] V2 is special as well!”
