Just announced on manx radio, due to the weather conditions as seen on webcams

The beer tent looks busy though !

It will be. Cargo is on his way. :mrgreen:

John Foster Wrote:It will be. Cargo is on his way. :mrgreen:

My kind of guy !

As long as they've got plenty of Guinness!!!!

Times sure have changed.....so if it starts raining during a race, the riders will have had no experience of what the surfaces are like in the wet, where the puddles can form? Surely an ideal opportunity to offer controlled laps behind the very experienced and skilled travelling marshalls? We had to learn the circuit, especially the mountain, so thoroughly that you could count your way between bends in thick mist, at high-speed touring pace, if not race pace.
In the 70s, at least when it came to race day, they used to send us 125 riders out to see how many were killed, then decide if the Senior was to be scrapped, so I am not advocating a return to that, but it is supposed to be ROAD racing! How long before pace cars are brought in for wet or misty sections?

I assumed that it was primarily to do with the helicopter not being able to land, especially over the mountain - isn't that the primary reason for cancellations now?

If they were controlled laps, there would be no need for helicopter rescue - unless a spectator collapsed with w*nkers' cramp or something - and you can never, never get too many laps of the course on closed roads - even wet ones!

Oh, mods, might it be an idea to change the title of this thread to Wednesday night's practice cancelled?

It more like the Duke/Greenlight helicopter cant film as it was sugested a few years ago by one of the pilots, they call the shots as much as the rescue choppers these days....

Thats why there is so much disruption to the practice and racing....

TT TECH Wrote:It more like the Duke/Greenlight helicopter cant film as it was sugested a few years ago by one of the pilots, they call the shots as much as the rescue choppers these days....

Thats why there is so much disruption to the practice and racing....

Absolute rubbish. Race Control has no contact with the Filming Helicopter during the sessions other than via one of the AirMed helicopters talking to them on the Aviation VHF radios. The AirMed helicopters broadcast over the radio that they are flying from the 32nd to Nobles etc and the Filming Helicopter has to keep well clear of them - the AirMed ones have priority in the Air.

If the Clerk of the Course is concerned about the weather conditions, then he may ask one or both of the AirMed helicopters to check around the course to ensure they can reach it all. If any of the course is unreachable by the helicopters, then practicing/racing can't go ahead unless in exceptional circumstances. In the past if the mountain section has become unreachable, the bikes have been red flagged in Ramsey and then led over the mountain on convoy by the TM's.

Andrew.

ALP Wrote:In the past if the mountain section has become unreachable, the bikes have been red flagged in Ramsey and then led over the mountain on convoy by the TM's.

Exactly what I was suggesting?

It's not something we want to get into the habit off as the riders then end up sitting in Ramsey, getting cold (or wet if it starts raining). It's a bit of a logistical nightmare as we have TM's all over the place and have to get them to Ramsey as well.

If the Mountain section was unreachable then I very much doubt the bikes would be set off knowing that they could only get to Ramsey. The added problem is that if the mountain is unreachable by the helicopters, then other parts of the course can be as well.