Veteran Czech road racer Michal "Indi" Dokoupil has been competing in the Isle of Man TT since 2009, 5 years after he first started racing in 2004 at the relatively late age of 26.
But just one year later he won the Czech Open championship and took 5th in Supersport the following two years. However short circuit racing wasn't in his long term playbook. In 2005 he also turned his attention to road racing, winning his first race in Horcice in 2008, and a further two at Radvanice. He then decided to make the move to the mother of all road races in 2009!
Since then he has worked his way up the TT ladder (as well as participating in many other road races, notably the Classic TT) and now routinely expects to score a replica on every race and in his top class -- the superlight twins -- he is consistently in the top 10!
Our take: Indi represents the true heart of real road racing.
Struggling to make ends meet in support of his passion, every year he and his small crew pile into their 20+ year old Mercedes Sprinter van and drive from Prague to the Isle of Man for two weeks of heart pounding action. Apart from 3 people, they carry at least 2 bikes, all spares, tyres, fuel, a marquee, personal effects and merchandise (and let's not forget the Czech beer!). And there they camp for two weeks at the nether end of the TT paddock.
And yet.. using only slightly modified, several years old stick machinery, Indi manages to far outperform any expectation, routinely scoring in the top 10 overall in his best class - the lightweight, and always ending the race week with an armload of bronze and silver replicas.
Super charismatic & friendly, always ready to raise a beer with our guests, Indi is what REAL racing is all about. We are overjoyed to contribute to his efforts and is always a highlight of our TT programme!
We have been staunch supporters for at least a decade and hope for many more years!