Thank you tatuus! I've kept out of this discussion since we've "transferred", but reading your comments has fired me up.
What doesn't seem to be acknowledged, is that the leaders will be overtaking the slower riders anyway, so what difference does it make? The leading riders are perfectly capable of performing an overtaking manoeuvre, they do it all the time on other circuits.
I cannot for the life of me understand why it is worth risking both the safety of riders in practice, and the lack of understanding of the race for the public.
I certainly won't be coming to the Island for the TT whilst racing is underway in the present format.
Obviously the bigger deal is the pressure applied to riders in practice. It is totally unacceptable to have ANY rider attempting to put in a decent lap time before either the bike or the rider are ready to do so. Practice is what it is, and so it should remain that way.
I recall in 1996, I had had a huge crash at the NW200 at Mather's Cross, and arrived on the Island in quite a sorry state. I duly qualified in 23rd place. In the first race(F1), I finished 2nd to Phillip McCallen ahead of Michael Rutter, Ian Duffus, and Joey.
Can you imagine starting that race in 23rd place? But because I was under no pressure in practice, I was able to build up my confidence, and started the race in a reasonable state of mind. That's just one fairly reasonable example.
The sooner the organisers change the present format, the better.