After their successful 1991 TT on all conquering Honda RVF machines, Hislop and Carl Fogarty had not planned to return in 1992. However, they both lined up on the Glencrutchery Road that year on unfancied machinery: Hislop was on Ron Haslam's Norton with Fogarty on the Loctite Yamaha. The Norton 588 had been developed on a shoe string budget when compared with the Japanese competition. John Player [the main Norton sponsor] had no intention of backing Hislop's TT campaign but after scratching around for some support and with minimal testing time, the team headed for the Isle of Man. Hislop's Norton took to the circuit in the unconventional white livery of Hislop's long term sponsor Abus. Hislop and the team defied the bike's detractors by taking a fine 2nd place in the opening TT F1 race. The bike proved it could complete 6 laps of the gruelling Snaefell Mountain Course in hot weather so the team looked forward to Friday's Senior TT. A number of adjustments had been made to the Norton prior to the Senior: a larger screen was fitted to protect Hislop from the high winds, the front mud guard was removed to admit more cooling air to the engine and protective covers were fitted to the front forks. Hislop's main rival was Carl Fogarty who started at number 4. Hislop started at 19. Not only did this give the Scot more traffic to contend with but it also gave the crowd an anxious wait as the officials calculated the time difference between them [a gap that never exceeded 7.4 seconds]. As the race progressed, the two riders smashed records they set the previous year with Hislop taking a narrow advantage into the final lap. In a last-ditch attempt to catch Hislop, Fogarty recorded a record lap time of more than 123 mph on his Yamaha. It was all in vain however as Hislop guided the fly splattered Norton home to an historic win. This was one of Hislop's greatest achievements and one of the most popular TT wins. Carl Fogarty's lap record stood for 7 years. Hislop and Fogarty went on to become two of Britain's most successful motorcycle racers, winning many races and championships [Hislop mainly domestically and Fogarty internationally]. It was the 1992 Senior TT that saw them battle together for the last time. Described by some as a flawed sporting genius, success in the