In the 60s/70s the Manx was always run Practice 1st week. Racing 2nd week in September quite often a lot of rain and leaves on the road.

The rain and wet roads should not be a problem as long as riders use their brain and ride within their ability and exoerience, it's the low cloud that catches riders out, particularly newcomers, and like most I thought it was important to get at least one session practice session in the wind and rain even heavy downpours, not nice but vital for experience in a wet race.

Usually even if raining the early mornings were clear and practice went ahead a soon as it was light enough and the cloud/mist usually came later in the morning.

I appreciate the marshall dificulties but no rider can get enough practice laps in to gain more experience and learn a long and difficult course, I doubt that even any of the greats, Hailwood, Dunlop Redmond, Agostini and their like ever put in an absolutely perfect lap spot on.

There have been up to twelve T.T practice sessions for the T.T. not sure about the Manx, starting with two on the Friday and one on the Saturday morning before practice week proper, even qualifying all the bikes on the first one or two sessions I tried never to miss a session with as many laps a possible.

Regardless their experience all riders need to get "mountain course fit", it ain't the same as a quick whiz around Oulton, Brands, Cadwell or even the Southern and endurance racing, I know it has been reduced from six, seven or even more laps to four and its all over in no time with the speed of todays bikes but it is still just a demanding on the body and mind.

The pressure must be really on riders now, especially newcomers to get machines right and qualified with so few practice sessions.

Having said that the mountain course can be a pig of place on a bad day so lets hope every single rider has a safe uneventfull race and they achieve their dreams.

Syd Lawtons words to me at my first Manx. "The most important thing you have got to do is make sure you can drive your own van back onto the boat"