Hi guys

I'll add a few thoughts to this if I may? I should I suppose... my name is at the top of the page!

Going back to the original point regarding practice time etc, I can say that as usual this year, we have obtained feedback from the riders and teams competing in the TT. We have lots of useful feedback, but there has not been any comment about the amount of practice time. It seems to work OK at present and I don't personally see the need to change. It wouldn't be my decision alone to make such a change, but I feel no reason to make a recommendation based on what I know right now.

There was a comment regarding Thursday afternoon session and how the organisers 'shot themselves in the foot' by removing it. I don't see how.

The reason for the change was because of increasing public opposition and subsequently that of the DOT, all relating to traffic flow. All event organisers will tell you, it is essential to keep the local residents as content as possible, as without their support you can face challenging opposition. It wasn't a major change, the teams and riders didn't have any problems with it at the time (they were consulted) and the evening session actually gave them slightly more time than the afternoon session.

With regards to morning practice, let me say two things first. I loved them personally, the uniqueness and the atmosphere, and miss them a lot as they were a big part of my growing up with the event. Secondly, I have been personally blamed in the past for 'getting rid of the morning practice sessions' which I would like to clarify if I can. I didn't take up my role until three years after the decision to remove the morning practice sessions was taken so that is clearly wide of the mark!

To bring them back now would be difficult, simply because of the marshalling issues that have been mentioned, and no matter what one or two of the correspondents here believe, the IOMTTMA are 100% sure that they couldn't man them so who do we believe? I should also say at this point that there is no call from the competitors or teams to reinstate them.

Now onto the racing points. Some interesting comments here, although I feel some are ill-informed and are bordering on personal 'digs' at me as opposed to constructive comment. 2007/08 was a defining time for the TT, following the crash on the last lap of the 2007 Senior TT Race. The resulting changes which had to be made in light of the Coroner's inquest into that incident put exceptional strain onto the resources the TT can currently pull from.

From my own point of view, in the past year, myself and my team have spent around 30% of our time doing the work we are 'supposed' to do, and the rest of the time supporting the various other groups and individuals putting the fundamentals of the event in place in a professional and defensible way, a way which the TT could not take comfort from in the past.

Two words I would use to sum the work done in the past year up would be essential but frustrating.

I am the first to acknowledge that the entry for the TT needs work. This year we simply did not have the time or resource to focus on this, and with an unexpectedly large number of retirements we were found wanting. Luckily, some of the good work we had carried out in previous years was paying dividend, with riders we had brought in like Cameron Donald, Steve Plater, Gary Johnson, Conor Cummins, Keith Amor, Ian Mackman etc putting on a superb show, and closing up the action at the front like never before making the racing terrific.

Someone said to me the other day that the racing was predictable. I had to remind them that NINE different riders stood on the solo podium through Race Week. Tell me who could have predicted that!

Anyway, going forward we find ourselves in a good position so far as my personal role and that of my teams is concerned. We have the support and the resources required to firmly concentrate on delivering our roles effectively for the first time since I have been involved, and I am confident that people will notice considerable and positive changes in the next 12 months.

Despite what many people think, it is our job to promote the event as the rights holder. We do not run the races, set the circuit up, put in the prohibited areas, recruit the marshals and other such tasks which I sometimes believe is the perception of some people. The promotion of the event this autumn, through the winter and into the spring will be aggressive and focused. My team will be taking an active role in the festival for the first time, and we hope to bring all the elements of the overall event together to make it a much more attractive offering for potential visitors. It needs to be more user friendly to get the 'chunk' of it you want, and we will do this and soon.

My own personal aim is to make the event much more appealing to a wider audience. Reading a lot of these postings here and on other web sites, there is a lot of detail being discussed, but it is detail that means nothing to the casual fan or the potential fan. We can't afford to ignore the dyed in the wool enthusiast, but concentrating on him alone is a dangerous game for the future so we need to marry up the aspiration of both.

The target for 2009 has to be a significant amount of extra visitors – ultimately that's our job – and whilst totally and unrelentingly essential, nobody will come to our event just because it has excellent safety precautions. There will be changes, changes I believe to be exciting changes, changes which will take our event to the next level.

Back to the racing, questions are being asked about the entry for 2009 already; fair point.

For those interested parties, we have instigated a detailed rider recruitment programme for 2009, led by our two Rider Liaison Officers Richard Quayle and Johnny Barton. Collectively we have listed around 100 riders we believe may consider the TT in 2009 or further into the future. We have begun contacting them to discuss the possibility, and have so far reached around 80 of them. I am pleased to say that we are enjoying an excellent response, especially from up and coming young riders in the BSB paddock, who I can only guess are buoyed by the success the likes of Conor Cummins and James Hillier have enjoyed. In addition that though, we are scouring Europe for talented riders who will compliment our event, and we are back into the States to talk to one or two more. Thank God for the internet!

At this years MGP we will be bringing in a number of potential riders to talk to us in more detail and to look at the circuit with out Rider Liaison Officers. I am VERY optimistic that we have some exciting times to look forward to so far as the entry for the 2009 TT is concerned, and I am saying that in June 2008!

As usual, I must acknowledge that we will not be able to please all the people all of the time, and I'd be a fool to even try. Most of the people most of the time is realistic. In my job we have two clear KPI's – economic impact and contribution to the Island's positive national identity, and I am confident we can improve on these, and by doing that we will have addressed the majority of the points being raised. If we can merge that successfully with our partners efforts to ensure rider and public safety standards are as high as they possibly can be, we are in a good position.

It sometimes feels as though we are being accused of foul play with the TT and there are more conspiracy theories about the event than there are about the JFK assassination! I can only speak for myself when I say I want nothing out of the TT but for it to be as successful as it possibly can be. I put my heart and soul into the job, and if someone better comes along to take over for me, I'll be the first to wish that person well. In fact, I'd be rather relived!

Taking on this job has cost me a lot of things, and manys the time I've considered whether or not it is worth it. One day I will go into the detail about this, and I think people would be shocked to learn some of the things that have gone on. But I love the TT, it means the world to me, and I am absolutely honoured to be able to play a part in it.

I don't profess to be perfect in my job (who is?) and I doubt my colleagues in any of the organisations involved in the event do either. We all get it wrong from time to time, but speaking personally, I am always on the look out for constructive comments, be them positive or negative. My e-mail address is paul.phillips@gov.im and my phone number at my desk is 01624687059. I would like to encourage anyone with comment to make to contact me via either of those methods, as I don't always get time to read the long threads to manifest on the road racing web site forums. I'll be happy to hear from you no matter what you have to say.

On another note, I am shortly going to be recruiting for my team, so there is a chance to go even one better and put your 'money where your mouth is' so to speak by joining us. As soon as we are ready I will post the recruitment details here in case anyone is interested.

Good night.

Paul