I've not noticed many folk using this site of late, which I find a little worrying. There's so much to talk about, surely you guys and gals have more to chat about? You're not all away are you? There's a million TT related subjects to discuss, Shaun and Hilary's continued progress,(so pleased to hear that Hilary's improving), the Southern 100, Scarborough, all the Irish meetings, Ian's new book, even the odd short circuit snippet could appear on here.
I see that on another web site "they" are having a go at Paul Phillips. He does look to be fair game, but, give the lad his due, he always takes the opportunity to respond, using his own name, and make pretty sound sense. I don't for one minute agree with all the decisions that were made for the TT this year, but no one can doubt Paul's commitment to the job in hand.
I mentioned Shaun earlier. When I visited him, he told me that he'd retired. How many racers have retired while lying in a hospital bed? Well I chose to ignore the remark; it's amazing what a bit of fresh air and boredom can do to a man's retirement plans! So what do we think? The odds on Shauns retirement? Well I think it's 60/40 in favour of him having one more go. Personally, I do hope he doesn't race again, and the next time he's on that rostrum is when he 's conducting the open air service on the Sunday morning!
Next year's TT looks interesting. Everone has said that this year was a one off. There's no doubt that it was really really busy. Not on the prom, all the hotels have gone, but all round the island. However,a German friend told me that the Germans had joined together in force to make the effort for this year, but, due to the high cost, they won't be back in numbers next year. If visitors act similarly in numbers, it could make a difference. I hear that the BSB meeting clashes in'08, so a few competitors could be compromised. My opinion is that Paul has a huge task on to generate interest, by way of competitor quality, variety of classes, and new ways to entertain the general public on the prom in the evening. I was mesmerised by the entertainment on the Prom, but it WAS the first time I had EVER watched it. I thought Steve Colley worked hard for his corn,he's bloomin' amazing, but there's only so much you can do.
Methinks that the variety of classes is the big bugbear. Thinking caps please ladies and gentlemen. I think the organisers are going to have to accept slower bikes on the track in practice, just as someone mentioned that they manage alright at Le Mans. I don't think the public are going to accept effectively one class for solos, i.e. 4cyl Japanese.
There! Anyone got any thoughts. And before anyone says it, I know I don't contribute much on this website, but I will if it means you guys start pressing the buttons, and maintain the interest.