'Every life decision I've made was to get me here' - Blake Kelly on his second year at the Manx Grand Prix
17 August 2026 · 17:20  Manx Motor Cycle Club

For firefighter Blake Kelly, riding around the Mountain Course has been a lifelong dream which was realised for the first time last year.
The 31-year-old from Douglas takes part in his second Manx Grand Prix this August and is hoping to break the 110mph lap barrier on his Aprilia RS660 which he will be running in the Sportbike and Junior races.
Blake began his racing career in 2018, riding in the Andreas Racing Association at Jurby circuit in the north of the Island, where he said his journey to the Manx Grand Prix began.
He said: “As soon as I'd done my first track day, I was like, right, I want to go on the mountain course now.
“Every life decision I've made was to get me here.
“My partner Becky, who I’ve been with for nearly 10 years now, only last year went on our first trip together that didn't involve racing, and that's only because I'd broken my finger and messed up my ankle.”
During the 2025 Manx Grand Prix, Blake entered the Supersport and Senior races riding an old Yamaha R6, finally achieving his dream in a bittersweet culmination of years of hard work and dedication from him, his partner Becky, his family and his team.
He said: “To finally get out, it was utterly surreal to finally get that goal that's been built up.
“You know it inside out, spend so much time around it, and be a part of it.
“I remember going down Cronk Y Voddy and it was almost like an out of body experience.
“Sort of me watching myself go down Cronk Y Voddy with the sound of 4 cylinders screaming, that's the sound of my childhood.
“I'm on the other side of it now and yeah, I still can't quite say how magic it was.
“It was 100% physical, 100% mental, and yet 100% calm and relaxed as well.
“And then, yeah, great, but on the other side of it, it's got a bit lost.
“This has been my goal for the last few years. What do I do now?”
Blake enters the 2026 races on his new Aprilia RS660 and has made the switch from Supersport machinery to run in the new Sportbike class and Junior Manx Grand Prix race.
Blake said: “I've got a bit of a goal this year.
“Last year in the first race, I managed to lap at 109.4mph.
“It was on an old R6 which wasn't particularly ideal for the class that it was in.
“So this year was about investing in everything to take out all the question marks over the bike and say 'I've got a proper bit of kit underneath me, what can I do for the year?'"
He added: “I want the 110 mile an hour lap and there's a few markers along the way.
“I was quicker around Southern 100 than I was on the R6, it was quicker at Oliver’s Mount, even though I hated it and I’ve been quicker at Jurby than I was.
“Hopefully it lines up and yesterday I only managed the one lap, but it was a very relaxed lap.
“Firmly sort of in the middle and close to some lads that I think I'd be battling with so to do that on a relaxed lap, I'm pretty happy with it so far.”
Now entering his second year of racing around the 37.73 mile circuit, Blake is still learning the ever-changing course and prior to setting off for the first time last year he had to come to terms with the fact that the roads he uses every day have now become a racetrack.
He said: “I love overthinking stuff and before last year I was concerned, it's like, ‘oh, am I going to accidentally try and stay in the left lane?’
“I've spent lots of time blasting over the mountain and I think if I come to the 33rd, am I going to accidentally stay to the left because it's double white?
“There's a few bits that it's hard to picture and even then the course always changes anyway.
“I think if anyone says they know the course, then they're in a dangerous position and they don't know what they're up against, because everything's gonna change as the road settles and moves and as stuff gets resurfaced.”
When Blake isn’t racing or putting out fires, he runs the social media page “Unrestricted Isle”, with platforms on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
He took inspiration from the Island’s unrestricted speed limits to spread the word of road racing on the Island across the globe.
He said: “Last year when I did this for the first time as a newcomer we filmed everything because from the get go, it's like, all right, well, when I started riding on the road, I always had a camera on in case something happened.
“Moto-vlogging was quite a big thing but it doesn't really happen on the biggest bike place in the world.
“So I'll start doing that and then the more I spend time on track, the less I spend time on the roads because it's just, it's not as fun.
“It's far more dangerous, it's not as predictable so I moved sort of away from that, but it meant that last year we had cameras everywhere following everything.
“There is a cracking shot of Becky watching when I come past down on Glencrutchery Road and the camera just pans around her and you can see she's like stressful but massively supportive.
“People assume that these are UK roads and they're not.
“The biggest difference is that we have unrestricted sections and I thought to try get ahead of anyone moaning when they say ‘oh you know you're going over 70 it's illegal’.”
Summing up how it feels to race the Mountain Course, Blake said: “I really can't properly encompass what it is.
“You are absolutely switched on, you will push to the point that you know you physically can't anymore, but it is really calm and relaxing doing it, it's strange.”
You can spot Blake racing around the course on his brightly coloured pink Aprilia with the number 40 plate in this years Sportbike and Junior races.
Words: George Ratcliffe  |  Photos: George Ratcliffe, Nick Wheeler, Mark Corlett

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