12 replies to this topic

[tonyed]

With Tuesdays TT practice cancelled due to inclement weather and wet roads I tuned in to the Manx Radio webcams this morning at approx 07.00. Up on the Mountain the sun beats down.
With no morning practice (the poor dears couldn't be arsed) it seems to me that unless some degree of latitude is afforded for the conditions that with the weather being what it is in the Irish Sea, on the edge of one of the worlds largest and most active weather systems, then very little in the way of scheduled practice could (in the wrong circumstances) take place.
Is it not time to reintroduce early morning scheduled practice or would it interfere with McPints sausage eating schedule?

I never particularly enjoyed wet racing in the Island (much to do with trying to dry my only set of leathers out) and as an MGP competitor my average speeds were lower (not always round the twisty bits) and there was no financial pressure to win my living, however I always felt obliged to turn out to acclimatise myself and to support the marshalls who had made the effort.

On the TT website Forum there is a thread active at present on this subject and the general feeling appears to be that wet weather riding has been scuppered due to the obvious burden of big brother 'elf and safety and fears of the organisers being sued and citing crashes at other events (NW200) where early lap crashes saw the first and only Saturday race stopped, never to be restarted.

I hate to say the obvious but outdoor events tend to be at the mercy of the elements and this should be taken into account.

For the regular TT competitor who does not require as much practice session time for track familiarisation reduced course time means only reduced set up time but for newcomers (unless of course you are a professional who can spend weeks prior to the event learning the roads) missed course time means missed learning time, which could be negated by entering MGPs prior to moving to the TT with the Pros.

Or it might mean tranferring the whole event to Bushys' Beer tent and seeing whoes fastest on the Nintendo (or what ever those devices are called).

[Macca]

Superbikes can't run when there are some damp bits, as slicks slide on the wet patches and wets chew up on the dry bits...........so stop running superbikes, make it Superstocks on all-weather tyres, otherwise there'll be no TT ; two years cancelled races on the bump could be the beginnining of the end.

Paul M

[Paul Collins]

With Tuesdays TT practice cancelled due to inclement weather and wet roads I tuned in to the Manx Radio webcams this morning at approx 07.00. Up on the Mountain the sun beats down.
With no morning practice (the poor dears couldn't be arsed) it seems to me that unless some degree of latitude is afforded for the conditions that with the weather being what it is in the Irish Sea, on the edge of one of the worlds largest and most active weather systems, then very little in the way of scheduled practice could (in the wrong circumstances) take place.
Is it not time to reintroduce early morning scheduled practice or would it interfere with McPints sausage eating schedule?

I never particularly enjoyed wet racing in the Island (much to do with trying to dry my only set of leathers out) and as an MGP competitor my average speeds were lower (not always round the twisty bits) and there was no financial pressure to win my living, however I always felt obliged to turn out to acclimatise myself and to support the marshalls who had made the effort.

On the TT website Forum there is a thread active at present on this subject and the general feeling appears to be that wet weather riding has been scuppered due to the obvious burden of big brother 'elf and safety and fears of the organisers being sued and citing crashes at other events (NW200) where early lap crashes saw the first and only Saturday race stopped, never to be restarted.

I hate to say the obvious but outdoor events tend to be at the mercy of the elements and this should be taken into account.

For the regular TT competitor who does not require as much practice session time for track familiarisation reduced course time means only reduced set up time but for newcomers (unless of course you are a professional who can spend weeks prior to the event learning the roads) missed course time means missed learning time, which could be negated by entering MGPs prior to moving to the TT with the Pros.

Or it might mean tranferring the whole event to Bushys' Beer tent and seeing whoes fastest on the Nintendo (or what ever those devices are called).

I agree Tony, and i've taken part in several discussions over the past couple of years trying to convince the organisers to at least look at some kind of policy on exactly what they should do in respect of this, as it could in theory end the event.

My view is that a pre determined group of riders should form a committee which is assembled when circumstances dictate, and who will then decide between themselves and the CoC whether or not the race should run, if they vote for it to run no-one is forced to go out, and the CoC (who by the way is a great guy doing a very difficult job) should not be held responsible for those who choose to go out.

The TT is a unique event, as is the IOM weather (I endure it every day) and there is no simple answer to this, the only thing we can pretty much guarantee is that there will be many more wet May's & June's in years to come, the safety of everyone has got to come first and foremost, but they also have to consider the future of the entire event, after all racing on the roads isn't the safest of pursuits on dry roads either, so how far do they go with this?

This is not a cheap place to get to and visitor numbers will start to decline if people do not have some kind of idea about whether any racing or practicing will take place on wet/damp roads, they may decide not to risk spending a wedge of money to come over and sit around for days on end waiting to see some action and decide to go elsewhere for their holidays.

I'm not suggesting for one minute that spectator satisfaction is a valid reason to push riders out on Superbikes in the wet on unsuitable tyres or to put anyone into a dangerous situation because it isn't, if the helicopter cant land on the mountain, if there is running water creating a risk aquaplaning its always going to be a no brainer, but the mountain course isn't safe, it never has been, I've lost mates to it just like many other people on here, but I think the time has come for some decisions to be made about the future of this unique event, or they may as well just face the fact that its impossible to guarantee everyone's safety on such a large circuit, bordered by walls, and situated in a part of the world with such an unpredictable climate and just knock the whole thing on the head.

[RC162]

I agree Tony, and i've taken part in several discussions over the past couple of years trying to convince the organisers to at least look at some kind of policy on exactly what they should do in respect of this, as it could in theory end the event.

My view is that a pre determined group of riders should form a committee which is assembled when circumstances dictate, and who will then decide between themselves and the CoC whether or not the race should run, if they vote for it to run no-one is forced to go out, and the CoC (who by the way is a great guy doing a very difficult job) should not be held responsible for those who choose to go out.

The TT is a unique event, as is the IOM weather (I endure it every day) and there is no simple answer to this, the only thing we can pretty much guarantee is that there will be many more wet May's & June's in years to come, the safety of everyone has got to come first and foremost, but they also have to consider the future of the entire event, after all racing on the roads isn't the safest of pursuits on dry roads either, so how far do they go with this?

This is not a cheap place to get to and visitor numbers will start to decline if people do not have some kind of idea about whether any racing or practicing will take place on wet/damp roads, they may decide not to risk spending a wedge of money to come over and sit around for days on end waiting to see some action and decide to go elsewhere for their holidays.

I'm not suggesting for one minute that spectator satisfaction is a valid reason to push riders out on Superbikes in the wet on unsuitable tyres or to put anyone into a dangerous situation because it isn't, if the helicopter cant land on the mountain, if there is running water creating a risk aquaplaning its always going to be a no brainer, but the mountain course isn't safe, it never has been, I've lost mates to it just like many other people on here, but I think the time has come for some decisions to be made about the future of this unique event, or they may as well just face the fact that its impossible to guarantee everyone's safety on such a large circuit, bordered by walls, and situated in a part of the world with such an unpredictable climate and just knock the whole thing on the head.

When I rode in the Manx in the 1980's I remember having a few really wet early morning practice sessions and it was a case of you went out if you wanted too. Yes it was not brilliant but you got the chance to study the course. Some riders are currently losing closed road time on track who have limited experience and you would think with all the marshals and medical staff in place that some would be allowed out on suitable bikes and tyres.

[tonyed]

Sunny morning in the Island again. McGuinnless will still be alseep dreaming of a 'full English'

Weather forecast is good for tonight.

Why not build a 'dome' over the Island similar to the Huston Dome project. Must be plenty of 'Off Shore' cash floating around to finance it.

[roger9650]

I do fear for roadracing as we know it, unless someone can come up with an answer. I'm not sure whether the views expressed on the TT forum are representative of fans as a whole? It may be that supporters who are relatively new to the sport find it easier to accept that the TT is now a dry roads event? You do though have to wonder how much patience all those concerned will show if this week, and last year's Senior, become the norm. The irony is that rider safety is declared to be paramount yet a perilous lack of practice is acceptable. It's a far cry from the days when you had twice as much practice and generally the only call off was for fog. Of course the bikes were pushing out far less power, but tyres, suspension, and road surfaces weren't up to much either so maybe the contrast isn't so great? What is certain is that it was every bit as exciting even with slower speeds but we can't put the genie back in the bottle, more's the pity. I'm just very thankful that I had the privilege of starting off watching on the 60s.
Anyway roll on Dundrod.

[LittleChris]

Webcams ( all 4 on 1 page ) for anyone wanting to watch what's going over the fortnight.

http://www.eyespyweb...mera_combo.html

I think they're situated as follows

1 - Ballagarrey
2 - Douglas Road corner
3 - Parliament Sq
4 - not sure as it doesn't seem to be working !!

Edited by LittleChris, 31 May 2013 - 19:24.

[Paul Collins]

Webcams ( all 4 on 1 page ) for anyone wanting to watch what's going over the fortnight.

http://www.eyespyweb...mera_combo.html

I think they're situated as follows

1 - Ballagarrey
2 - Douglas Road corner
3 - Parliament Sq
4 - not sure as it doesn't seem to be working !!

I dont think camera four has been fitted yet, There is also another one just after Ago's Leap here Quarterbridge Road but it hasn't been working some nights during practice, hopefully it will be on for the races though.

They've changed the programme for tomorrow, its just Sidecar race one now and then the Superbikes are going to run on Sunday, I think this to give them a bit more practice after the sidecar race tomorrow.

My only concern with the planned afternoon start on Sunday is that the Mad Sunday hero's determined to get their fix's will be pasting themselves all over the place on Sunday morning. leading to road closing/clean up operations/accident investigations etc which could cause delays for the organisers and ultimately they could lose the day, personally i'd shut the roads earlier on Sunday rather than midday to keep the circuit 'sterile'

[PaulMar]

I dont think camera four has been fitted yet, There is also another one just after Ago's Leap here Quarterbridge Road but it hasn't been working some nights during practice, hopefully it will be on for the races though.

They've changed the programme for tomorrow, its just Sidecar race one now and then the Superbikes are going to run on Sunday, I think this to give them a bit more practice after the sidecar race tomorrow.

My only concern with the planned afternoon start on Sunday is that the Mad Sunday hero's determined to get their fix's will be pasting themselves all over the place on Sunday morning. leading to road closing/clean up operations/accident investigations etc which could cause delays for the organisers and ultimately they could lose the day, personally i'd shut the roads earlier on Sunday rather than midday to keep the circuit 'sterile'

I can remember the days when runners sat at the Creg with a pint at Sunday lunchtime being entertained by the fans!!

Edited by PaulMar, 31 May 2013 - 23:28.

[SgtPepperoni]

I can remember the days when runners sat at the Creg with a pint at Sunday lunchtime being entertained by the fans!!

With MGP hero Hopkins riding on mad Sunday, there could be a few hair brains trying to prove they are better riders. Not a good idea to let him participate IMO. In fact, WTH are they thinking about?

[LittleChris]

I dont think camera four has been fitted yet, There is also another one just after Ago's Leap here Quarterbridge Road but it hasn't been working some nights during practice, hopefully it will be on for the races though.

The camera positions seem to be the same as last year and from memory the 4th one was at the Bungalow. No sign of it working yet though

[Paul Collins]

The camera positions seem to be the same as last year and from memory the 4th one was at the Bungalow. No sign of it working yet though

The only difference is the Ramsey camera which now appears to be looking from the Town Hall onto the square, last year it was on the exit of the square opposite Raymotors.

The bungalow ones are here among these IOM Tourist Board but they only refresh about every 30 seconds so no good for watching but ok for weather checks

[Paul Collins]

The only difference is the Ramsey camera which now appears to be looking from the Town Hall onto the square, last year it was on the exit of the square opposite Raymotors.

The bungalow ones are here among these IOM Tourist Board but they only refresh about every 30 seconds so no good for watching but ok for weather checks

Camera 4 has now come online, its at Quarterbridge, it was working for todays race but looks to be down at the moment.
TT Webcams

Great sidecar race yesterday and superbike race today, I wont spoil it for those of you waiting for ITV4 at 9pm tonight!!

Edited by Paul Collins, 02 June 2013 - 18:47.