Don Simons Wrote:My one and only experience of Parade Laps.
In 2000 I went to the TT for the first time after following it from the 60s. The Parade Lap included Ago on an MV and many others so I was very keen to see my heroes and their machines that I had only seen in British motorcycle magazines and films. We situated ourselves above the exit to the Ramsey hairpin with program in hand and clutching our transistor radio and eagerly awaited what I thought would be one of the highlights of our visit. The riders were listed in their order and they left the line on time so we settled in for a wait till they reached us. Then we could hear the beautiful exhaust notes as they roared into Ramsey below us, very quickly they were on us. A group of 3 or 4 bikes with heaps of noise and people calling out names but I must admit it was all too much to take in and appreciate in one hit. This situation continued until the end, I did see Ago and sort of got to hear the MV above all the others around him which was great. However we felt a little bit disappointed as virtually none of the riders came around by themselves so we could not appreciate the sight and sound individually. There will be a thousand reasons for this but if I could make a suggestion then it would be to let the riders go at, at least two minute intervals in the correct order so the fans could identify them. So I can understand those who think the Parade Lap is pretty much a waste of time but it may be that it just has to be done a bit differently. If the TT is going in 10 years time then today’s heroes and bikes will be in the Parade Lap. If we pull the shutters down on the past then the audience will be narrowed and that cannot be good in the long run.