Some interesting comments here! My original posting was intended primarily to praise what is happening now rather than to 'do down' any of the riders of the past. I should, however, point out that my comment about the 2007 TT entry being the strongest ever was in terms of the overall standard, as Beatster has rightly pointed out. I hold 100% to that view, and don't retract my opinion at all.

Peter, I only wish I was in my 20s - however the letter I copied in my original posting (which was written 3 years ago) stated that I had been watching the TT for 35 years, so I fear your maths has gone a little haywire somewhere along the line!! My earliest memories were in fact of your era. I well remember as a little boy being taken to watch at the top of Barregarroo with my cousins. On each lap we used to watch Ago go past, have a lemonade and a sandwich, have a run around in the field for 5 minutes, then go back to the hedge to watch the second man go past! Believe me, that's not much of an exaggeration.

The 'Golden Era' of the TT was without doubt the mid-1950s to mid-1960s, when most of the best riders in the world were indeed at the TT, many on full works bikes. In my opinion, there were two huge differences in those days compared with now - one good, one bad. The good thing was the variety, and noise, of the machinery. And for sure, none better than the Honda 6! My biggest gripe now is that it is all the same - but unfortunately, that is the way of the modern biking world and the TT organisers have to face facts and realities. But the bad thing was that many of the top riders back then didn't want to be at the TT, and were only there under pressure from the teams and manufacturers because they needed the points for the World Championship. Some of those riders who really didn't want to be at the TT at all sadly paid the ultimate price. Now, every rider from first to last, is there for one reason only - because they want to be there.

But even in the halcyon days of the TT back in the 50s and 60s, the real quality didn't extend much beyond the top 10 or 12 - the rest were, quite literally, miles behind. If you don't believe me, log onto the databases at http://www.iomtt.com and have a look at the gap between the front runners and the rest of the field in the races of that era (or just about any other era, come to that). In 2007, and I will say it again, there will be more quality than ever before throughout the WHOLE field.