The Place

Dear all



Further to feedback received following TT 2012 and ongoing work by the Department to further improve and grow the Isle of Man TT, we wish to share a number of proposals for next year’s event with the teams and competitors. We are wanting to ratify these proposals in the near future and welcome any feedback between now and the 10th of August. Feedback previously received from teams and competitors is being responded to on an ongoing basis and all those people who have previously provided feedback will receive a response.



1. Isle of Man TT Races 2013 – Proposed Qualifying and Race Schedule

A number of small changes are being proposed to the schedule for 2013, however the core race schedule remains the same.



Qualifying Schedule



Saturday 25th May

- 1820hrs - 1845hrs Solo Newcomers’ speed controlled lap

- 1835hrs - 1935hrs Lightweight TT / Newcomers (all solo classes)

- 1940hrs - 2005hrs Sidecar Newcomers’ speed controlled lap

- 2000hrs - 2050hrs Sidecar



Monday 27th May

- 1820hrs - 2000hrs Superbike/Superstock/Supersport/Newcomers (except Lightweight)

- 2005hrs - 2050hrs Sidecar



Tuesday 28th May

- 1820hrs - 1915hrs Superbike/Superstock/Supersport/Newcomers (except Lightweight)

- 1920hrs - 2000hrs Supersport/Lightweight/Newcomers (all Solo classes)

- 2005hrs - 2050hrs Sidecar



Wednesday 29th May

- 1820hrs - 2000hrs Superbike/Superstock/Supersport/Newcomers (except Lightweight)

- 2005hrs - 2050hrs Sidecar



Thursday 30th May

- 1820hrs – 1905hrs Sidecar

- 1915hrs – 2000hrs Superbike/Superstock/Supersport/Newcomers (except Lightweight)

- 2005hrs – 2050hrs Supersport/Lightweight/Newcomers (all Solo classes)



Friday 31st May

- 1820hrs –1940hrs Superbike/Superstock/Supersport/Newcomers (except Lightweight)

- 1945hrs - 2025hrs Sidecar

- 2030hrs - 2050hrs TT Zero



Race Week Schedule



Saturday 1st June

- 1200hrs TT Superbike Race 6 laps

- 1500hrs Sidecar TT Race 1 3 laps

- 1640hrs - 1740hrs Supersport/Lightweight Qualifying

- 1745hrs - 1830hrs TT Zero Challenge Qualifying



Monday 3rd June

- 1045hrs Supersport TT Race 1 4 laps

- 1230hrs - 1300hrs Sidecar Qualifying

- 1400hrs Superstock TT Race 4 laps

- 1600hrs - 1630hrs TT Zero Challenge Qualifying



Wednesday 5th June

- 1045hrs TT Zero Challenge 1 lap

- 1245hrs Supersport TT Race 2 4 laps

- 1500hrs Sidecar TT Race 2 3 laps

- 1645hrs - 1715hrs Senior TT Qualifying

- 1720hrs - 1750hrs Lightweight Qualifying



Friday 7th June

- 1045hrs Lightweight TT Race 3 laps

- 1300hrs Senior TT Race 6 laps





2. Homologation

We are proposing the FIM Homologation list for motorcycles is removed as an eligibility ruling from the TT Regulations from 2013 onwards. Instead a maximum age rule will be introduced meaning any machine older than 7 years old will not be permitted to take part. Further clarification of this rule will be included in the regulations issued for the event.





3. Supersport Technical Regulations

Due to the current economic pressures representation has been made to the Department to consider changes to the technical regulations for the Supersport class at the TT. There are three possible ways forward and we would like to know what the preference of the competitors would be moving forward. The three options are –



a) Keep the existing regulations unchanged.

b) Move to a Superstock specification regulation.

c) Keep the existing regulations apart from limiting electronic packages to manufacturers kit ECU’s only.





4. Paddock

Due to the increasing pressures on space on the TT Paddock we will be looking to make several changes to the way the site is operated and laid out in future. For information, we have attached aerial shots of the paddock from 2005 to 2012 which highlight the increasing pressures. We aim to meet the increasing health and safety related regulations being imposed on the site as well as improving the experience for those living and working on site as well as those visiting the site. The proposals for 2013 are as follows –



a) Resighting of the host television compound out of the area adjacent to the Mike Hailwood Centre and into Nobles Park.

b) The introduction of a separate secure motor home paddock outside of the main paddock, situated in the Vagabonds Rugby Pitch adjacent to Glenclutchery Road and the IOM Police Station.

c) No cars of any kind will be permitted access to the paddock and will be required to park in the main Nobles Park Car Park..

d) Trade Support (tyres / suspension / accessories etc) to be situated in a separate paddock in the area previously occupied by the host television compound, adjacent to the Mike Hailwood Centre.

e) Restricting Paddock A access to 40 foot articulated lorries or similar.

f) Major refurbishment of the main shower block.

g) Improved Wi-Fi coverage to all areas of the paddock.

h) PA coverage to all areas of the paddock for race control announcements.

i) Increase in cleaning and security provision to all areas of the paddock.





5. Start line Access

We intend to further restrict the start line area for race days with access to a newly defined area around the motorcycles and sidecars when formed on Glenclutchery Road restricted to pit team, team manager and race official pass holder only.





6. Riding Number Seeding

The newly introduced seeding system for all TT Races will continue for 2013 with the only change being the seeding will be taken from race lap speeds set by competitors in the past two years TT Races. Where a competitor does not have a race time set in that period, the organisers will apply a seeing position based on any other performance measures available.



Many thanks for taking the time to read this update. There are several other matters currently being discussed by ourselves and the team at ACU Events Ltd and all further proposals will be distributed for consultation in the future.



Best wishes

In answer to the proposed 7yr chassis regulation.
If you want the safest TT ride an Ireson.........it is a well known fact.
Age is not the only factor. Many new/nearly new bikes have arrived at the TT in an unsafe state.
New dont always mean safe.
What make a safe outfit is pedigree, and careful preparation and maintenance.
The major chassis builders like Trevor Ireson, Tony Baker, Mike Richards,Joe Shelbourne, Rod Bellas etc
are all super guys and very helpful.
I watched Tony Baker at Snetterton this week-end and he spent more time working and advising two
crews on other makers chassis than he did working on his own bike.

Does the 7 year rule apply to outfits? I didn't think it did as the 2012 rules were just for solo's.

Just want to make sure as my outfit is 10 years over the 7 year limit!

I have contacted the TT team regarding that, Dave. I'll tell you the answer on the startline on 23rd...lol!

The 'age of chassis' question was raised on Saturday at the informal FSRA meeting at Snetterton. The reply was that they didn't think it applied to sidecars, but I'm sure Pat or John could reply in more detail?

can someone in the loop who can say for sure not just speculate, confim if this relates to sidecars as soon as possible please.

This will impact on a lot of teams plans not just at the back end but also at the front.

Dick, I would have to disagree about pedigree making a safe outfit. We have all seen bikes that have come out of the finest engineers workshops that have then been bent/neglected and that have become dangerous. We've also seen one off's that have been made on the back door step as my old man would say, that have been as good and as safe as the bikes with pedigree.

I had a chat with Rod Bellas just the other day about my Shelbourne. it is 13 years old, has been and is still well looked after. it has no known cracks but gets stripped and checked between meetings or races if at the S100. Any cracks are sorted properly, by Rod and I would be happy riding it at the TT knowing I had done everything I could to make it as safe as possible. Just because it is 13 years old doesn't make it dangerous.

we all have a duty to ourselves, our passengers and each other to make sure our bikes are safe.

Any bike turning up at scrutineering that is not safe either because it has a crack or anything else should be turned away. Simple.

rant over

jc

I have emailed the question to the TT team this morning. Pretty sure it doesn't apply, but we need confirmation. That would finish the Sidecar TT and that is NOT in their plan.

In agreement with JC re-scrutineering. That is the crux of the matter, and the scrutineers are our friends, believe me. Things used to be so bad in the sidecar world that they sent scrutes over to look at bikes before accepting entries. I like to think we will never go there again. Standards now are so much better.

Keep calm and carry on....

Breathe....

Re proposed 7year old chassis rule, applied or not, it does raise some interesting questions.

Although this does seem to generally apply to solos even though I don’t believe it actually says anywhere that sidecars are exempt. Does this not depend to some extent on the design parameter from the individual manufacturer ?

Certain manufacturers Ireson, Baker, MRE, etc, build bikes knowing that they will be used at the TT, building strength and longevity into their design accordingly.

Other manufacturers LCR, Windle etc build/built bikes that they consider to be short circuit thoroughbreds.
Terry often said he built his F2 bikes to win championships in the year they were built and just like any “proper race car” the life span is measured in races not years. What happens to them after that was up to the owner.

Maybe the differences in Manufacturer’s build criteria, with the consequential difficulty in policing is the reason no rule has been implemented.

So as far as the TT is concerned, how do we determine, not whether a bike is good or bad by condition, but whether it is fit for purpose, either by age or design ?

I have had confirmation that the 7 year rule only applies to solos.

Further to that, there is an ongoing review of the specifications being undertaken by the FSRA/ACU so any comments or queries would be best directed to them.

I can't see what the problem is anyway
How can anyone tell what year my bike was built, there is no number on it.
When you enter just tell them the bike is new.

That's true enough Keith. In the classic world there's many new bikes been entered as early 1970 manufacture.

so they are saying solo's are unsafe after 7 years then

Ian, from memory it is an FIM homologation thingy, some solo guys wern't able to ride this year, because although their bikes were models that are still in production, they were over the age limit (manufacturers only wan't current models racing).