I have this gut feeling that DED want the old scoreboard to be sold off on ebay and replaced with a new digital one

Isle of Man TT: Petition launched to save 'iconic' scoreboard



The scoreboard has been used during the TT races for more than 100 years 

The Isle of Man TT scoreboard which has stood for more than 100 years will be dismantled for road works to go ahead, the government has confirmed.

More than 680 people have signed an online petition to save the "iconic" scoreboard which sits on Glencrutchery Road opposite the TT grandstand.

Engineers said steel supporting for the scoreboard is likely to need replacing.

Campaigners fear it will not be replaced and a petition spokeswoman said it was "unique in motorsport."
The Department of Infrastructure said scheduled road works would require the scoreboard to be dismantled by 2017.
A DoI spokesman said structural engineers had assessed that the steel supporting the scoreboard looked like it would need to be replaced.



Scouts have worked the scoreboard at the TT races for more than 100 years 

The petition spokeswoman said: "Losing the Isle of Man TT historic scoreboards would be like taking Ballaugh bridge out of the TT circuit".

In a statement the Department of Economic Development (DED) said it "understands the passions of the fans and of the importance of the history and heritage associated with the scoreboard".

It continued: "No decisions have yet been made but these will be factors taken into account in any final decision."
The DED Motorsport Team said it was currently reviewing all options including a manual scoreboard, a digital scoreboard or a combination of the two.

A separate health and safety risk assessment was also carried out during the 2014 TT with concerns raised by the clerk of the course over the position of the scouts who work the scoreboard during races.

A working party has been set up and a safety fence could be in place by the 2015 event.

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The chequered flag may be about to fall for the last time on the historic TT scoreboard when planned repair work on Glencrutchery Road could see it dismantled for ever.

The Department of Infrastructure is planning resurfacing work, expected to take place in 2017 or 2018, depending on how well work on Douglas promenades progresses.

When the work is carried out the board will have to be dismantled and a spokesman for the government has said it may not be re-erected.

He said: ‘The Department of Economic Development understands the passions of the fans and the importance of the history and heritage associated with the scoreboard.

‘No decisions have yet been made but these will be factors taken into account in any final decision.

‘The DED’s motorsport team is currently reviewing all options including a manual scoreboard, a digital scoreboard or a combination of the two.’

A statement from the DoI said structural engineers had assessed the steel supports for the scoreboard and judged it ‘likely’ they would need to be replaced.

In the meantime, clerk of the course for the TT, Gary Thompson, has raised health and safety concerns about the position of the Scouts who traditionally man the scoreboard during races, working at the front of the boards.

TT organisers ACU Events Limited completed a health and safety risk assessment during the Manx Grand Prix and Classic TT this year and a working party has now been set up to decide the best way to minimise any risk.

As a result a safety fence may be put in place ready for next year’s TT races.

Responding to the threat to the scoreboard, TT sidecar racer Debbie Barron has set up a page, on social media website Facebook, called Isle of Man TT Scoreboard History.

On it, she invites anyone to post images, comments, information and trivia about the scoreboard, saying: ‘I am being told another piece of history is to disappear forever, no doubt sold off in pieces.

‘Before it gets pulled down forever has anyone got old photographs or information about when it first appeared, who designed it?

‘Where will the modernisation stop? Another question is where is the Dunlop Clock that was taken down and never put back up?’

TT historian, author and owner of the TT Fottofinders archive Bill Snelling said his collection includes pictures of the scoreboard dating back to the 1920s with the structure largely unchanged.