Quayle won the Lightweight TT in 2002

The high quality of newcomers who will compete at this year's TT races has delighted former winner and now Rider Liaison Officer Richard 'Milky' Quayle.

Seven riders will make their first appearance in 2011, a year which will mark 100 years of racing on the 37.75 mile Mountain Course.

"We have a very talented group this year and between them they have got some very impressive CVs," said Quayle.

The Isle of Man TT races will get underway on Monday 30 May.

Simon Andrews , Jimmy Storrar , Dan Frear, Lee Vernon, Daley Mathieson, Robert Wilson and Dan Hegarty will all line up in June.

Quayle added: "We're extremely selective with newcomers, we have to be.

"We won't let the Outer Mongolian scooter champion enter and hit Bray Hill at 180mph. They have to be physically and mentally ready."

In 2002, Quayle became the first Manxman to win a solo TT since Neil Kelly in 1967. The following year he suffered a high speed crash at the event, so he is acutely aware the highs and lows of racing in the TT.

He says it takes at least three years to be in a place where you can compete to win.

Dan Hegarty had to withdraw in 2010 after suffering a broken arm

"All young riders want to go fast and to win. I haven't met one yet that wants to come second. But learning the TT course isn't like learning a short circuit, it's a much bigger project."

"You ride the TT course on your own and you need to be prepared. A lot of the riders use DVDs and Playstation games to help learn the course but it is real experience that counts on race days.

"You need to learn every bump and corner and that takes time on a 38 mile course. It can't be rushed."

In 2009, Steve Plater won the Senior TT in just his second year at the event, but Quayle is quick to point out that Plater had studied the course in great detail.

"Steve is a total professional. He used to keep a car on the island and every free weekend he had he would be over learning the course."

All seven of the confirmed newcomers have spent time on the island over the past few weeks and will continue to do so in the build up to the event.

The newcomers' recent trip to the island was funded by the Mike Hailwood Foundation. The Foundation was created in 1981, following the death of the legendary British Motorsport star in a car accident.

Adrian Archibald, Ian Hutchinson and Steve Plater have all benefitted from the Foundation's help.

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