ITV4’s nightly coverage of the Isle of Man TT races hasn’t been perfect, but by god it’s been very good. The camera shots they’ve been getting, in particular, genuinely deserve some sort of award.

The slow motion footage from high motion cameras has been nothing short of stunning. A bike hitting the ground after a jump is the obvious candidate for the high motion treatment, and indeed it’s been well worth the effort of capturing that – seeing the bike squirm on landing and the rider regaining control in such clarity is an absolute treat. But other details have been highlighted by the high motion cameras as well, like the screen being buffeted by the air at high speed. And it all looks brilliant.

On board cameras have provided some great pictures too – specifically of riders’ faces, and of the scenery flying by at close quarters.

The TT is about the spectacle of motorbikes lapping the Mountain Course at high speed, as well as the races themselves. And it’s that spectacle which ITV4 has captured near-perfectly through outstanding camera work.

Coverage of the races has been further from perfect – though certainly not bad. Like rallying, it’s hard to convey the story of the race through split times – but that’s the nature of racing against the clock.

BBC MotoGP pit lane man Matt Roberts has been a better presenter when he’s stood in for Craig Doyle, but Doyle is hardly offensive. As for commentary, James Whittam and Steve Parrish has, as suspected, proved an odd combination. Neither man has been poor, but a lack of familiarity – in terms of not working together regularly – perhaps conspires against them.

One extremely odd moment, however, was Parrish interviewing Valentino Rossi at trackside. It was as if Rossi had no idea what Parrish was doing there. Maybe Rossi just wanted to spectate in peace, but given that Parrish is there in the MotoGP paddock every race, you’d think that there would have been more congeniality. By comparison, Rossi seemed entirely at ease talking to Matt Roberts.

But for top quality interviews, there’s only been one man: Guy Martin, the rider who is never far from a cup of tea. Thinking about it, give him a medal too.