Yes, I was there, I saw, I listened and my lips are sealed on some of the shenanigans that I witnessed throughout the night (lol). 05:30 and they were still rolling back into the hotel

Mind you I never saw any of them at breakfast :?

Hope your head didn't hurt too much Kinners ?? Mind you I am sure that you will not have been the only one feeling that way this morning. :wink:

The night kicked off with a long introduction by Paul Phillips giving the run down on who are and who are not appearing this year, with many of the riders present at the do. John "Corona" McGuinness, Ian Lougher, Ryan Farquhar (also on Island for the Southern MCC Enduro at Dalby Mountain on Sunday) , Adrian Archibald, Ian Hutchinson, Martin Finnegan and Klaffi, to name but a few, all mentioned and receiving a round of applause from the crowd. Ago doing his rounds trying to get Des Collins and Klaffi to give him a ride.

Chris Palmer, Nigel Beattie, Paul "big H" Hunt, yes they were all there and clearly enjoying themselves. Seamus Greene was mingling among the crowd, having a chat here, there and everywhere with anyone who stopped by.

I found myself in the company of FC (Colin) Moore at one point, who tells me that he has all but given up with the sport now, and only watches; albeit with a lot of interest. (He now has a cracking 600 up for sale that I could be interested in).

Dave Hagan was doing the rounds and it looks as if he had quite a succesful evening, having to borrow my pen to write yet another contact number in his book.

For the sidecar boys, of course the news is that Moly has Craig Hallam back with him, Nick Crowe & Darren Hope will also be back, and Tom Hanks is back with Andy Laidlow. Of course regular Roy Hanks will also be on the TT course again this year. However the anticpated appearance of Tim Reeves has been "blocked" at the last minute through sponsorship agreements (or disagreements as the case may be), but he promises that he will be here next year.

An exciting piece of news is AMA Superbike rider Mark Miller making his first appearence, I wonder what he will make of the mountain course ? Mark Buckley who is Ian Loughers protege will be there and initial reports are that people are very impressed with him already. Also making his first appearance is British Championship rider James Edmeades.

David Cretney made his announcement for this years TT, stating - an ex world champions appearance, more money being spent on safety, all 4 major Japanese manufacturers providing support, full blown BSB entry by Paul Bird (the bike was on show at the press launch and was only moved when most people had disappeared to Colours, or wherever else they could find open).

The venue started thinning out very early, as people got their free goody bag, complimentary nibbles and orange juice, however with some die hards hanging around for a chat over a libation or two.

Personal Comment.

I have to say that overall, I was not overly impressed with the venue as it appeared to be too small for the number of people who were invited (unless 50 or so crept in without invites), and perhaps a large screen with some video footage of past racing may well have been a suitable backdrop to the opening of the Press Launch. I also felt that as there were so many riders there making an appearance and showing their support, that at least they could have been invited up to the podium alongside the speakers, in order to permit a group photograph of them all.

However, all in all, the night went quite well and unfortunately I had to retire early as I had a boat to catch this morning.

To answer your criticism Malcolm, 50 or so did creep in without invites - actually I would say about 80 or so, so it was overcrowded, and because of this, it was impossible to bring the riders to the front whilst I was speaking. They did all get brought forward for pictures though, and all had a great time on a great night for the Isle of Man TT.

Paul

TT Press launch i have to take my hat off to Paul Philips and his crew, it was very informative and it looks like it could be a great TT all being well. \as for me doing the rounds looking for a ride of Des Collins and Klaffi i dont think so. I think my sponsor Terry Austin would be a bit put out if that was the case. I havnt seen Des since before my Dad passed away in Nov and was just saying hello and for Klaffi i was just asking him about his new LCR F2 outfit i lookforward to seeing it in action at the TT.
Depending on my entries being accepted i hope to Ride in all solo classes thanks to Terry Austin of ARP Racing and his ongoing support thanks Terry all the best roll on TT 06...... :roll: 8)

Kevin, I didn't realise your Dad had passed away. I'm very sorry to hear that. I think I last saw him at the Southern?

Thanks for your thoughts... Malcolm are you on the Island next weekend will give you a call friday evening and no worries i didnt take it serious .

Kev me auld mucker, sorry to hear about your Dad too, think this is the first any of us heard about it.
We're you one of those 50/80 'sans' invites? , anyway the best for the forthcoming season and hopefully ya might pop over for a meeting or three!