Neal thinks exciting new road race will be a real diamond

The three-time British Touring Car champion has become one of the key players behind a new road race, set to be launched on Isle of Wight.

Neal, aged 53, from Stourbridge, has helped organise the Diamond Races, which look set to become a very exciting addition to the road racing scene.

The island is known for its remarkable coastline and the new race is set to take place on a 12.4 mile-long course, in the south of the island, in October next year.

It is an exciting prospect and Neal revealed the idea started how most great ideas begin – over a pint in a pub.

"I speak regularly with James Kaye, who is a former British Touring Car Championship racer and team-mate of mine, when I first started about 30 years ago," he said.

"I saw him last year and we were talking about lots of things and ideas, and a road race on the Isle of Wight was something we had mentioned before.

"Some of the roads, especially the military ones, are so good and ideal for running a race on.

"All the road races are currently in the north of England, the Isle of Man, Wales or Ireland.

"But the bulk of team ownership and GDP comes from the south and the area is crying out for a motorbike road race.

"The Isle of Wight seems like a natural place to hold one so we were going over the things we need to get in place."

The course will snake its way through the villages of Chale, Kingston, Shorwell and Brighstone as well as a fast five-mile coastal stretch along the military road – where Neal thinks the bikes could reach 210mph.

The new race meeting will be run under the strict event regulations stipulated by the sports’ governing body, the ACU (Auto Cycle Union), through which all UK motorcycle sport is administered.

Neal said he started had racing on two-wheels himself, when he was younger, competing in motocross before switching to cars after taking advice from his father.

"I'm not really built for anything – other than basketball, maybe – so I got to a level where I was competitive but not quite good enough," he said.

"I kept hurting myself and eventually my dad convinced me to try car racing, but I've still got three bikes at home and I'll always have a big passion for them.

"My dad advised me to move into car racing and when I first joined Honda, Neil Tuxworth was the boss of Honda Racing but he was always leaning towards motorbikes and, in particular, road racing.

"I've had a close relationship with Honda for 20 years now so I got hold of Neil and then we contacted former British champion and TT winner Steve Plater, whom I've also know for a long time because when I joined Honda he was racing for the British Superbike HM Plant Honda team, as well as racing on the Isle of Man.

"We all had a talk over a beer and eventually got in contact with the council – and immediately they were very interested."

The plan is for the race to become a regular motorcycle race meeting and end-of-season celebration, taking place a week after the British Superbike season wraps up.

Superbike, supersport and lightweight machines, along with a sidecar demonstration and an electric motorcycle category to follow in the future, will form part of the race, which will also have road safety at its heart.

Gary Thompson MBE, Isle of Man TT Clerk of the Course, is also backing the meeting, which will have a major focus on safety.

Neal said: "Road racing is controversial but we're going to use it as a way of promoting safer riding and driving.

"The military roads on the island are already like a race track so we'll be using some of the money raised through the race to improve and educate about road safety.

"Events like the Isle of Wight Festival and Cowes Week bring in a lot of money to the local economy too – Cowes Week is worth something like £50 million to island alone – so this road race meeting could be another good move.

"We don't want to encroach on any other meetings or takeaway any from fan bases, but it would be great to get another road race up and running, especially with meetings like the Ulster GP under threat. It would make the road racing calendar stronger.

"We started with three tracks, which were under consideration. We literally opened up a huge map and looked at what roads would work best and be least disruptive to the population, but eventually it was whittled down to one.

"Plater and fellow TT race winner James Hillier have already been out to test it out – and they reckon the bikes could be hitting 210mph in some sections.

"Being in the south of England, we could hope for some better towards the end of the year and it would also be great to attract more visitors to the island around that time.

"It already has interest from German and Dutch tourists, so it really could take off.

"If I see an opportunity I always go for it and, despite the current climate, we've already had a lot of interest from sponsors and backers, which is amazing.

"We'll also be looking at using new technology, where fans can use apps to follow their favourite riders through the TV, things like that, so there are a few things to get excited about.

The Diamond Races will include two practice days, on the Wednesday and Thursday, followed by time-trial feature races staged on the Saturday.

There will also be a mass participation event for motorcyclists to take to the course, led by renowned road riders, to experience the thrill of road racing on safe, closed and controlled roads.