Isle of Wight TT

[Horse]

There are loads of places across the country with thousands of stored vehicles. Have a look at Google maps for the Greenham Business Park and Heyford Park. Then have a look at what Bruntingthorpe looks like 'now' before expansion.

I dread to think how much money is tied up at these places. Is there any other industry that ferrets away so much stock?

[The Spin Doctor]

Shame, I thought the Welsh one was more doable as it used mainly military roads and didn't pass through any residential areas.

I guess the success of this one depends on how much money the Isle of Wight tourist board have to throw at it, it has potential to be a pretty good money spinner for them. Once you're on an island you're kind of a captive audience and it'll extend their tourist season by an extra week or two.

There was a problem running a time trial over such a short lap - it was around 5 miles for the Welsh road race circuit, IIRC. The lead riders would have been back round before the last riders had got going.

This race is rather longer at an 8 min lap, so at least they can get a decent number of bikes out before the first bikes are round again.

[Gedge]

The IoW TT isnt likely to happen as a time trial/ race anytime soon. What they are likely to do is to have a ‘festival of biking’ type event with some parade laps of the proposed circuit. There needs to be a shift in legislation to allow racing and even time trials fall foul of some legal issues.

However, this has got further than most proposals as it’s already got the backing if IoW council . I know the leader (Dave Stewart ) from his days in the police, and I know that he won’t put his head above the parapet without some degree of certainty, so him giving press releases is a good sign.

I think they are looking at Sept / Oct because one of the Islands largest events is the Scooter rally in August, and I reckon they will be looking at using their infrastructure as the start point ( camp sites, catering and facilities, stages etc)

Lots of people are getting excited about it, so let’s hope the positive ones over ride the nimbys.

[Mr Moofo]

The IoW TT isnt likely to happen as a time trial/ race anytime soon. What they are likely to do is to have a ‘festival of biking’ type event with some parade laps of the proposed circuit. There needs to be a shift in legislation to allow racing and even time trials fall foul of some legal issues.

However, this has got further than most proposals as it’s already got the backing if IoW council . I know the leader (Dave Stewart ) from his days in the police, and I know that he won’t put his head above the parapet without some degree of certainty, so him giving press releases is a good sign.

I think they are looking at Sept / Oct because one of the Islands largest events is the Scooter rally in August, and I reckon they will be looking at using their infrastructure as the start point ( camp sites, catering and facilities, stages etc)

Lots of people are getting excited about it, so let’s hope the positive ones over ride the nimbys.

One would feel that it is about time for regions in the UK to get creative in what they can to attract home tourists - and this would seem to be great idea, however with the usual issues.
At the same time Brighton and Hove Council ( now in the hands of the Greens again) want to ban traffic from Maderia Drive - so completely buggering up the Speed Trials , the various bike and car rallies, the Ace Cafe Reunion, Brightona , Mod weekenders etc ...
https://present.brighton-hove.gov.uk/mg ... U8NGXetYg0

Sign the petition please ...

[Bigjawa]

Plater did a similar video for the Welsh TT course thing, whatever happened to that?

It folded over costs and the difficulties of insuring it, as I suspect this will.

They need to look over here to see that road racing is on the way out, the UGP is basically finished, In debt to the eyeballs, been rained off repeatedly and too expensive for the casual supporter so they basically walk across the fields to avoid paying altogether. The NW200 only exists because of the amount of money thrown at it by Coleraine council and the NI assembly to bring tourists wanting to spend cash, every single vantage point is blocked by advertising hoardings and they wanted 90 fucking quid to sit on the side of a railway embankment.

The IOW is a lot more southerly than the UGP but in October the rain could be a massive factor.

[Wossname]

I understand it costs to run these events, but when I went to the UGP with my son 2 years ago, it cost £30 each to stand in the rain all day, watching from 1 or 2 corners. So we didn't. That's a shame, and I don't know the answer.

[The Spin Doctor]

The IoW TT isnt likely to happen as a time trial/ race anytime soon. What they are likely to do is to have a ‘festival of biking’ type event with some parade laps of the proposed circuit. There needs to be a shift in legislation to allow racing and even time trials fall foul of some legal issues.

However, this has got further than most proposals as it’s already got the backing if IoW council . I know the leader (Dave Stewart ) from his days in the police, and I know that he won’t put his head above the parapet without some degree of certainty, so him giving press releases is a good sign.

I think they are looking at Sept / Oct because one of the Islands largest events is the Scooter rally in August, and I reckon they will be looking at using their infrastructure as the start point ( camp sites, catering and facilities, stages etc)

Lots of people are getting excited about it, so let’s hope the positive ones over ride the nimbys.

I suspect it will all go quiet next year when the initial excitement has worn off.

It's worth pointing out there have been a couple of projects like this before.

The Circuit of Wales which was supposed to host MotoGP - contracts had been signed, but the track never got beyond the talking stage despite a serious cash investment from the Welsh Assembly.

The Welsh Road Race event - that was announced in 2017 and called off in February 2018. It was supposed to take place in the Brecon Beacons between 3rd-5th August - it was a similar kind of event held over a mix of MOD and public roads. They even got as far as selling tickets which they had to refund. The Auto Cycle Union (ACU) was unable to sanction the event because the organisers proved unable to meet a list of requirements. A statement from the Welsh Road Race blamed a revision to the Road Traffic Act in Wales for the complications although I confess I have no idea what those revisions were. The event was supposed to go ahead in 2019 but sank without trace. Rumour had it that they simply hadn't figured out how they could run a time trial over such a short lap. Former BSB and TT race winner Steve Plater was also heavily involved in that project too.

The IoW lap is rather longer, but I can see issues with what the press release describes as a 'winding technical section' - this stretch is much narrower than a normal two lane road, and there are also a lot of buildings close to the proposed track's edge. Whilst these sort of roads crop up on Irish road circuits, a quick look at what's happening in Ireland should sound warning bells - they've been priced out of existence by insurance costs. Two of the races I've been to over there haven't been run in recent years.

The IoW event appears to be a mix of 'pay to view' and free viewing sections. I'd guess that all the prime spots will be pay-for. They're talking huge numbers of visitors on a circuit 1/3 the length of the TT - that worries me. There are many areas you cannot watch the TT because of either access or being too dangerous. It's hard to see how they can fit in similar numbers. Although passage to the IoW is not as expensive as getting to the IoM or Ireland, it's not cheap and it's also going to put pressure on the ferries - if you've ever been over on them, they're not exactly huge and as it's an event spread over several days, you'll also need to factor in accommodation - the late October date doesn't exactly favour camping.

And last but not least, there's the date. It's being proposed for late October, to avoid clashes with the already packed British Superbike Championship calendar and to avoid the island's high tourist season, but this brings several other problems. The daylight hours are rapidly shortening, there is low sun morning and evening, the weather can't be guaranteed, and wet tracks won't readily dry. It's also windy on that corner of the IoW which doesn't bode well at 200 mph, and if there's an early autumn there's also a risk of leaves on the track.

These problems aren't insurmountable, I'm sure. But it would be wise not to get too excited - the 'done deal' tone of the press reports could still be very premature indeed.

[Hot_Air]

At the same time Brighton and Hove Council ( now in the hands of the Greens again) want to ban traffic from Maderia Drive - so completely buggering up the Speed Trials , the various bike and car rallies, the Ace Cafe Reunion, Brightona , Mod weekenders etc ...
https://present.brighton-hove.gov.uk/mg ... U8NGXetYg0

Sign the petition please ...

That's many big events that are going to come to an end! I wonder what the local businesses think about it?

[KungFooBob]

This is quite a good article about the whole thing and the potential for it actually happening...

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/n ... -it-happen

[Bigjawa]

I understand it costs to run these events, but when I went to the UGP with my son 2 years ago, it cost £30 each to stand in the rain all day, watching from 1 or 2 corners. So we didn't. That's a shame, and I don't know the answer.

The big killer of the UGP has been the weather, being halfway up a mountain means it'll be glorious on a sunny day and utterly crap on a bad one the visibility can go from 10 miles to 50 feet in about 5 minutes, I know it takes money to run these things, but because it's so open, there's absolutely nothing to stop people just dandering across the fields and not paying anything. The sponsorship of the old days is long gone, and they fork out a fortune in start money to attract the top riders. I don't think the manufacturers go much for road racing any more because it doesn't sell 600s like the BSB telly exposure.

[The Spin Doctor]

That's a good piece by Hargreaves... I'd still put the odds against the event ever happening... particularly given the fact that no-one has a clue what the COVID-19 situation will be next year.