In response to comments made by Tomcat earlier in this thread, my opinions on the subject would be broadly similar to his own. Being old enough to recall watching Ago racing on the MV Agusta and even now able to remember the wonderful sound of it on full noise as he dropped from the Creg down to Brandish, I look forward to seeing and hearing it once again. However I have reservations about the continuing practice of allowing top TT stars into the Manx Grand Prix, and making it very difficult for many riders to win a replica owing to the fast pace being created at the front. I do get annoyed at this phrase "raising the profile" of the Manx. The Manx doesn't need its profile raised. Too many people seem to want to make the Manx Grand Prix more similar to the TT. As Tomcat says, the TT and the MGP are two totally different meetings in very many respects and long may that remain the case; even lots of the fans that come for the Manx every year would have no great desire to come to the TT. As to the claim that the Manx needs to bring in more spectators, I would suggest that as a result of entries dropping every year (partly due to the situation in the Classic races as mentioned above and partly because of the TT course licence issue, which I said at the time it was introduced would have a major effect on the numbers of entries in the future) then the meeting may unfortunately continue to attract less rather than more spectators.
In my opinion any rider who has finished in the top three in a TT race in the previous five years should not be allowed to enter the Manx Grand Prix for a period of three years. Also I still have very strong feelings that while top TT stars can enjoy themselves on the TT course in both June and August, there are still a certain number of former TT regulars who were not accepted for the Centenary TT, being deemed to be not competitive enough, but were unable to be accommodated within the MGP either. OK, one or two did re-appear in the TT this year as the organisers needed as many riders as possible to bolster the entry, but quite a few names have gone off radar altogether. I won't mention any names as it's not my place to do that, but you only have to look at the entry list in the TT programmes of four or five years ago. I would much prefer to see such riders allowed back into the Manx automatically if they weren't accepted for the TT. I applaud the moves by the MMCC to allow former riders back into the smaller classes under certain circumstances, although sadly this doesn't appear to have worked to the extent it was anticipated, I still feel that more could and should be done in this area.
On the subject of the decline in entries, I feel that the TT course licence demands are very much to blame for this, and I also posted this opinion on this forum when the idea was first introduced and continue to stand by what I said. In fact I KNOW that this is the case because I have spoken to several people, former MGP riders on the subject. I feel that requiring TT riders to compete in six meetings is fair game and anyone taking part in the TT would easily achieve this as most are racing most weekends in other road races or high profile short circuit meetings. But, surely, three meetings a year should be more than adequate for anyone intending to take part in the Manx? Yes, I know that the MGP runs on the same course as the TT and the risks and dangers are just the same, but the higher speeds necessary to qualify are not nearly so stringent at the Manx. The Manx Grand Prix is an amateur event at the end of the day, and the riders, for the most part are enthusiastic amateurs as compared to the career-focussed TT competitors. Many MGP riders are taking up to three weeks off work and paying to be on the Island for a similar time span in order to do the Manx and to keep the bikes running for all practice and, possibly, two races. They may not be able to afford to do six other meetings as well, but they almost certainly would be doing two or three other meetings in addition to the Manx every year anyway, in order to dial themselves and their machines in to the challenge ahead of them in August. It doesn't surprise me in the slightest to see reduced entries for the Classic races, I predicted the same long ago.
It must be stated that the TT course licence issue is, of course, nothing to do with the MMCC and everything to do with the ACU. Whether or not individual members agree or disagree with the merits of it, or otherwise, they are obliged to impose it. Only the ACU can sanction changes to the licence requirements, and I wouldn't hold my breath.
There is to be an important meeting next week when the Chairman of the MMCC will announce the plans for the MGP format for 2009. As Cargo says, the MMCC are very much committed to securing the future of the Manx Grand Prix and are actively taking on board many, many opinions from people to help find the right way forward for the event we all love so much. I look forward with anticipation to the announcement, and no doubt there will be much discussion on this board regarding the outcome.
I realise I have gone slightly off-topic as the original thread was about whether or not to allow the MV and Paton into the Senior Classic, but I think that much of it is relative in many ways.