S I T E   U P D A T E D  16 / 10 / 08                 J I M   M O O D I E   R A C I N G # 2 1

With all the hype and anticipation surrounding this forum I attended with an open mind.  I have no favouritism towards the people involved at the forum, just my love for the Isle of Man TT, as a Manx man and competitor for the last 14-15 years.
What follows below is not in any order, but a guide to what was said during the evening.  The over-riding impression that was left in my mind is that both the riders and the host are very pro T.T. and want to see it continue.
Alan opened the proceedings by welcoming Jim and John, and explaining the reason why Tony was unable to attend.  He read a letter from Tony explaining the problems with his shoulder which with him being in a wheel chair makes life very difficult.  Alan expressed, on behalf of all present, best wishes to Tony for a rapid recovery.

Both riders agreed that Yes, it is and not just because of DJs accident.  Both expressed concern that for the last few years the TT has gone downhill quite substantially to what it used to be.
John expressed concern about the hassle actually starting at Heysham.
The paddock arrangements for this year left a lot to be desired as it appeared to push people apart.
Tradition is a lot to do with the TT but there has got to be a compromise between tradition and moving forward with the times.

Both were quite happy with most of the organisation in the office and would be quite happy for the ACU to carry on running it.  Their main bone of contention was the number of decisions that had to go to the jury and that people couldn't make decisions on the spot.  They felt that it needed one good man to manage and have a team around him that were confident to make on the spot decisions. 
They also felt that there wasn't always sufficient feedback to riders over why certain decisions had been made.  The North West has a system whereby the riders' reps are told why decisions are made as they are and not just given the final answer.  This helps build a better understanding between officials and competitors.  Suggestions from racers are made from a single view point - the racing, and when suggestions are turned down they don't always appreciate why.  It is all to easy to forget in the middle of race fortnight that the residents have to put up with certain decisions for the other 50 weeks of the year.  They quoted the example whereby the competitors had asked for the grass area in the paddock to be concreted because it also became such a quagmire.  The answer was No. The reason for this was only given later and it was for other uses for the residents.
Jim also said that he visits the North West on a regular basis to comment on road repairs and improvements from the point of view of a racer.  He was unaware of any riders being invited to do similarly for the T.T. Course, at which point Jack Woods pointed out that Jason Griffiths was consulted for this reason.  Having said that, Jim sited the example of the new road surface at the Black Dub, which was a lovely surface, but ended abruptly with a lip of ½ inch which was upsetting the handling of the bikes.  He felt that there was no need for this and the two surfaces should have been blended together smoothly.  Both riders appreciate that the roads are only a racing circuit for a few weeks of the year but more input is required from competitors so help improve safety.
Jim and John have had a meeting with David Cretney and Mike Ball from the IOM Tourism Department.  They went into this meeting unsure of what might happen and thought that it would either last 5 minutes, or 2 hours.  It actually lasted 3 hours and lots of useful ideas came out of it.  Whilst they didn't go into the details of the meeting at Saturday's forum, they were pleased that they had been listened to and taken seriously.

Jim's opinion was that the scrutineers appear to pull you for the simplest excuses, e.g. wrong shade of backgrounds, rear number plates on the production bikes; but turn a blind eye to bikes that possibly haven't been looked at fully from the previous session, e.g. not even cleaned.
With having the transponders, is it so important that the numbers are of uniform size and that the backgrounds are all the same shade?
Jim believes that there is no excuse for dirty bikes if the riders have a professional attitude.  When cleaning a bike potential problems can be spotted.  He used as an example an oil leak which he had noticed on the ground from the scrutineering bay back to the Hailwood centre and through to the paddock.  He wondered where it was coming from only to find that it was from a sidecar on its way to scrutineering.  This could equally have been a solo.
They had no real concerns about the standard of the scrutineering, but more the consistency of the approach.  They also felt that there was a sense of each session having a "special" area that would be hit on.  As a member of the audience I could relate to this, having had my sidecar wheels on one way for 3 or 4 sessions, only to be told they were the wrong way round later in the week, and we weren't the only ones this happened to.

Both admire the dedication, enthusiasm and effort that the marshals put in.  Both felt that the system of training let the marshals down.  The standards of marshalling are suitable for a race being run at 105 - 110 mph average, but not sufficient to cope with today's speeds of 125+.
Jim suggested maybe putting a £50 levy on the entry fees to pay for training for the marshals.  Alan added that in the past that the TT Riders Association had paid for whistles (but had offered to pay for radio equipment) for the marshals.  Not wanting to get anyone into trouble but John said that he had been talking to a marshall during an MGP practice who was on his own and that he had made his own red flag and had it "stuffed into the hedge" in case.
Whilst not wishing to dwell on DJs accident or point the finger of blame, John stated that at the time of the incident there was no oil flag, just a stationery yellow.  This raised the question "Was an oil flag available or were the marshals lacking in training to know which flags to use?"
John has been asked previously about the fact that Adrian had missed the oil patch and DJ didn't.  His opinion is that DJ was possibly drafting Adrian but slightly offset one way or the other.  The oil that John had seen on the course afterwards would have been sufficient for DJ to lose control of his machine, but Adrian to continue unaware of anything untoward.

Jim explained that his decision of no longer riding at the TT was made whilst lying in the hospital on the Thursday afternoon after spending 10 minutes lying on the pavement with no help.  He felt that he could not put his family through this again.  The backup systems were not in place to cover such an eventuality as happened.  He admitted that he waited for a while after the TT to announce the decision because he didn't what it to be seen as a knee jerk reaction.
His wife and family have had to put up with a lot since the event in the press and via various websites, being accused of slagging off the TT.  He is still very pro the TT and wants to see it continue.  It needs to move with the times and safety is the big issue.  The bikes can handle the course; there is nothing wrong with it.

One member of the audience asked whether the same reactions would have happened if the accident had happened to a privateer racer rather than DJ.  Both Jim and John felt that it probably wouldn't.  Not because the accident would have been any less tragic, but because of the number of high profile riders involved and it bought it home to them the major shortfalls in certain areas.  Being high profile, people tend to listen to them more
Asked about up and coming riders both expressed concern that the UK has a lot of talented young riders who would like to do the TT but need encouragement from the organisers to be able to do so.  One young rider Jim had spoken to said he didn't know how to go about it.  Is this an example of the ACU not encouraging younger riders to do the TT?  They appreciated that there are riders who just want a go at the mountain course, and once they have done it, then they have achieved their ambition.  For them the MGP is the better place.  But what help is there for those that want to go further and be the next Joey or Dave?
Getting riders from the World stage was also touched upon.  Schedules would make it difficult but there is some interest - Roberto Rolfo has openly expressed the desire to race the TT.  However, any Spanish big names can't compete because their licensing authority prevents it.
They felt that the TT was unique and that the competitors each had their own goals, such as getting a certain lap time, or finishing in the top 15.  Whilst they used the term "Holiday Racers" they saw that these people posed no problem in the racing as long as they brought with them the professional attitude required, i.e. well prepared bikes and focused attitude when the flag dropped.  This professional attitude should be applied by all concerned, because the TT can only exist with "Holiday Scrutineers" and "Holiday Marshalls" as well, and every assistance should be given to these dedicated people to help them to achieve this….end.  Home Page