I may end up having a bit of a rant here, so forgive me if I go off on one a bit I'm 48 years old and in that time I've done 43 TTs, 15 MGPs and a Manx Rally. You could say that I'm fairly keen and committed...

There are things that need to be addressed as a matter of urgency IMO. The visitor demographic now seems to be almost totally comprised of those who arrive on the last day of practice, watch one race, ride like maniacs on the course and if they're still breathing, go home on the Monday of race week. The tourist board need to attract those wishing to stay for longer (ideally for the whole thing) because as things stand at the moment, hoteliers, pubs, restaurants etc are trying to make in 3 days what they used to make in 2 weeks and the only way to do that is to jack the price up. Having visitors come for longer could also provide more marshalls, which if attracted in great enough numbers could allow us to have afternoon and morning practice again. As a matter of simple economics, people staying for longer will spend more and apend it more widely, benefitting more businesses. I don't necessarily have an answer to this - that's Mr Earnshaw's job.

Atmosphere? Bit rarified in my opinion. I can't believe the statistics given about visitors - I'd prefer to believe the evidence of my eyes...

No complaints about the standard of the entry but I'm very concerned about the size of it. Just over 50 starters for the S/bike and Senior? PP has been on various forums saying we can't have 250s because there wouldn't be enough on the grid - does this mean we won't have the Senior next year for the same reason? But more of that later...

Make the 1907 re-enactment a permanent fixture and run in it on the Tuesday of practice week, then offer a package deal to cover that and the Pre-TT Classic. Maybe get the place going a bit early on?

The restrictions: Sure the prohibited areas hadn't changed much but the RESTRICTED areas! From a photographers point of view it's quite obvious that this has little to do with safety - does a Gold media pass protect you from a flying bike? The creation of a two-tiered media accreditation system absolutely stinks. That needs to stop. Period...

We need more classes - how do we get them? Take a look at Thundersport GB's class format. Their GP2 class allows for 250 2 strokes, 600cc prototype 4 stroke twins (someone's building a 550 Aprilia for that) and 690cc singles, although for the TT I'd expand that to unlimited capacity saingles. That could be the Lightweight TT, which I would run in place of the 2nd Supersport race.

Sound of Thunder race for twins and triples - it's already a recognised class and there are loads of manufacturers making suitable bikes. Run that instead of the Superstock.

All these could practice at the same time as the other classes or if that can't be done then revert practice to the way it was before. Practice week needs to be made more interesting, so that more people will come. Bums on seats etc...

Finally, there's room for another race on Senior day. I'm keen on the new Moto450 class, although it obviously needs to get established and some creativity applied to practice slots. The format is a brilliant idea and off the top of my head there are 14 manufacturers who could be approached for involvement. Run it as a 3 lapper then have a decent parade before the Senior, featuring riders and machines with a TT history. Set them off at 10 second intervals so that we can properly appreciate the sight and sounds.

*climbs off soapbox...*