Gedge wrote: ↑Tue Aug 04, 2020 7:52 am
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.
