Ian has announced at the Ulster that he is retiring from racing. Another Scottish hero we will miss at next year's TT. Good luck for a happy future in whatever you do next, Ian. It has been a joy to watch you over the years.

Well, we now have Jim Moodie, Ian Duffus and Michael Rutter out of the 2004 TT.
Not a good year.

I think Iain has made the right decision. His heart certainly wasn't in it at this years TT. He has had a great career and brought much pleasure to the watching fans and he should be proud of his achievements. I wish him well in his retirement.

Iain and Jim know what their doing.They both have had years of success the rest of us can only dream about.

Only the select few can say they have won at the TT, the Ulster and the North West (although Adrian Archibald fans might dispute the latter one!), and Iain will be remembered as one of the finest road racers of the modern era.

I will remember him for his titanic battles with Phillip McCallen in the 600cc races of the mid-1990s, and his astonishing lap of almost 124mph on the final lap of the 1999 Senior TT when the steering damper on his R1 Yamaha had failed early in the race. Despite this huge disadvantage, he kept his head flat on the tank and managed to finish second behind his team-mate David Jefferies.

Hopefully Iain will remain closely involved with the sport from the 'other side of the fence' - which reminds me of the time he actually did vault the fence at the North West the other year when his bike, after stubbornly refusing to fire up, suddenly burst into life seconds before the start of the race after Iain had given it up !

Best of luck with whatever you do in the future Iain, and thanks for all the entertainment you gave us over many years in the sport.