Tomcat, your idea about how the reps get awarded pretty much ties in with an idea I had earlier in the thread but i got my backside kicked over it
I understand that it's not a perfect concept and the argument against it was that it devalued the achievement of winning a rep. I've never been a racer, so it's not for me to say whether that's true or not. However, the Manx needs to attract more visitors (PP's words) and having exotica ridden by TT stars certainly helps in that respect. More punters also = more potential marshals.
As an example, I wasn't intending to come to the Manx this year (skint...) but when I heard the news about the MV I knew I couldn't NOT come, so the plastic's gonna get tortured some more!