My view is they believe the event is bigger than any rider, or a few riders - even top ones. You only have to read how they are bigging up the TT now, and how the entry list is being swelled by offering free entries. They know that most spectators don't give two hoots over who rides and who doesn't as long as they can come over and spend a week drinking and partying with a few motorbikes thrown in. At the end we wil be told what a great week it was, no mention of anyone being unhappy or unjustly excluded, while they count their takings.

As long as the TT remains a cash cow the ACU will continue to back it (as long as it doesn't interefere with their monopoly of short circuit racing) and the likes of us poor mortals (especially Manx GP mortals) will get kicked from pillar to post and tolerated as long as we can be milked.