Perhaps this quote from the 2008 regs might help ?

Funny how nobody ever seems to read them


"Entries will be accepted in the following order of priority:-
1. Riders who finished in positions 1st to 30th in the corresponding race in 2007
2. Up to 30 additional riders in each race, based on previous fastest race laps
3. Up to 20 newcomers in each race
4. Additional riders selected at the discretion of the Organisers subject to a maximum of 85 entries in total in each race
Reserve Entries
For each solo race up to 5 reserve entries may be accepted in addition to the maximum of 85 confirmed entries. Reserves will practise with confirmed entries. Subject to qualification under SR 12, they will take the places (but not necessarily the starting numbers) of confirmed non starters up to a maximum of 85 starters per race. New numbers will be allocated to reserves when they are guaranteed a start, at the discretion of the Clerk of the Course. The first available will be given to the first named reserve in each race and so on as places become available."

It is unfortunate that this has occurred but it is difficult to see an easy way round it. A definitive answer cannot be given to competitors until after the closing date. If the organisers had rejected some of the entries outright ages ago I'm sure there would still have been people not happy, especially if it turned out there were not enough entries to fill the grid.
As for the sidecar crew. Previous form is difficult to establish. Am I right in thinking he only did half of the lap for newcomers, on the first evening of practice, behind a travelling marshall before the accident. He certainly doesn't fit into categories 1/2 from the regs (thanks for that Cargo), so it all boils down to how many other entries were received from newcomers and a few "at the discretion of the Organisers."

shaun hogg Wrote:Fair point Clucie , i think the point here is that they should have been told a lot earlier than now that there entries would not be accepted , i am by the way speaking about the sidecar crew here not the paddock clown who i think Russ was talking about in his post & i fully agree with your post Russ .
I am all for safety & with the speeds these guys are pushing now there can be no chance taken whatsoever .
I think maybe after last years TT the organisers should have taken Mr Boyd aside & told him to save the postage for this year or go classic in the MGP .

Hi Shaun, I think you are dead right but maybe should have accepted Wade under the reserve entry with a notification of this is your last year at the TT enjoy it. As for the sidecars its getting harder and harder, especially when the likes of Molly, nick and about 5 others are more than capable of putting in 110+ laps and then there is a gap in times. This makes it dificult under the Qualification % of the fastest time.

I also think that the ACU are putting themselves under pressure with the rules they have brought in about the Course license, which means entries have to be in as late as possible to allow license qualification.

I don't really have a solution unless overseas entries have a different deadline. Maybe November, but even then with travel the way things are this also maybe not time enough ... so when is?

I've long supported the notion that TT riders should have to ride the Manx first, though I appreciate this isn't necessarily a simple thing to achieve. It seems like madness to me to allow riders out on the toughest, longest road race in the world against the best in the world, without the opportunity to learn the course in a less pressured environment. But then there would be less opportunity to bring crowd-puller stars in and the loss of earning to the TT, perhaps. Safety or commerce, you decide.

Even so, this wouldn't help the guys in question here, as there is no Manx sidecar event so they couldn't have used that as a qualifying/proving event.

It's a shame that these enthusiastic individuals have been so abruptly let down. Perhaps the organisers are happy to do this as long as they can continue to pick and choose from an oversubscribed entry list, but it's definitely not what I would call good practice. They need to bear in mind the time and money invested by anyone who wants to ride on the IoM (for overseas competitors this can be huge) and if there is any chance they will not be accepted for the following year's event they should be advised either after that event, or immediately upon receipt of entry application. I agree it is necessary to grade applications and not accept someone who is not up to it, but there are ways and means of doing this.

A lesson to be learned, I hope.