After missing the 2015 and 2016 events, one man who's felt the pinch from a lack of practice at the TT 2017 – perhaps more than most – is Josh Brookes.

But the Australian is slowly getting dialled back into the Mountain Course and enjoying himself on the island once more as he campaigns the Norton, a Honda 600 and a Kawasaki in the Lightweight.

"It goes without saying I need more laps and after the time away, it's extremely relevant for me. I tried to do as much revision as possible before I came here but it's limited in value - being out on closed roads is the most valuable learning you can do and that was very evident this week,” Brookes told bikepsortnews.com.

“I felt like a newcomer again in the first couple of laps and it was a bit nervewracking. Not nervewracking in terms of moments but in terms of how much information there is to take in."

The former BSB Champion is equipped with the Norton Racing Superbike as well as the 600cc Jackson Racing Honda and Lightweight KMR Kawasaki and has certainly felt the extra machines has benefitted him as he re-acclimatises himself with the 37.73-mile course.

"It's difficult to know where I'd be without the extra bikes and extra laps but it's got to be helpful. The first two laps on Tuesday were tough but on the third and fourth, I started to get a smile back on my face and the excitement of being here started to flood back. The public are quite envious of what we do and I certainly recognise how lucky I am to be able to race here and have such a unique experience."

Whilst he needs more laps, the 33-year old is more than happy with the Norton and now it's a case of building back up his confidence through certain parts of the course.

"The plus side is certainly the fact that the Norton feels really good and I haven't had to make any changes yet. It feels more than capable of doing good lap speeds so I'm looking to focus on some of the parts of the course where I can go quicker. Sarah's Cottage is one as it's difficult to get it right. It's like a short circuit corner but, like many places here, if you don't get it right it has a knock-on effect on the next two or three corners.

"The Glentramman section and through the Conker trees, as well as the end of the Mountain Mile and Cronk-ny-Mona are others. I know I can go quicker but it's getting the confidence to do it and at the moment I'm rolling off the throttle early.

I'm being cautious but the good thing is that the brain is getting acclimatised to the speed. 122mph on the Norton didn't feel much different to 114mph on the first night so when I make the next step up, it will probably the same.

"I'm looking forward to some good dry laps in the sun over the next couple of days but equally, I'm wary of not getting mentally fatigued before the Superbike race. There's going to be a lot of information to take in over a short space of time so I won't be going to the beer tent over the next few days.”

On-board with Brookes and the Norton at Kirk Michael