My two penneth on this subject which i can se from all angles i think , firstly having lost my brother in 1989 i know the insurance pay out which we recieved after his death was minimal , but that didnt matter as this was his chosen avenue & all riders have some sort of personal insurance although i dont think you would expect much of a pay out & a high premium in this game , which we all know is extremely dangerous & also extremely selfish on the riders part , because they all think they are invincible & in the case of injury or worse it is the family who are left to pick up the pieces , however we all get as much pleasure out of it as they do .

Since phil was killed in 89 i have been heavily involved in fund raising for our ambulances which are under the manx motorsport medical services charity administerd by doc stevens , our fund has been running since 1991 although david was looking after the Rob Vine fund prior to that , our fund is to provide immediate care to injured riders by way of rescue ambulance , immediate care packs which are situated all around the course & paramedics , who all give up there time volutarily to help here , taking holidays just to support the TT & MGP

I think our fund is an invaluable & absolutely necessary part of the racing here as is the Helicopter fund .

However on reading some of the posts on this subject aqbout central funds for injured riders , i am not so sure how this would work or could work , we do of course have the ACU benevolent fund which helps , we also used to have in the hotels i remember an aid for the injured riders fund which i think was linked to the Acu where all the hoteliers payed a annual fee of i think £20 or so , obviously there are no hotels now to speak of so that has gone , which probably accumulated quiet a few quid years ago , personally i would be happy to pay into an annual fund for the riders who get injured as inevitably they will here some worse than others unfortunately , say a £50 annual fee as a rough guide , the unfortunate thing with such a fund is you could not really offer a lot to injured riders , but a small amount is better than no amount .

This brings me on to my next segment which is supporting individual riders by fund raising etc , this has of course been highlighted by the terrible accident invloving Nicky Crowe & Mark Cox & also the accident involving TM John Mcbride , the fund raisers set up to help these guys are set up by family & friends of the guys who are asking for help , if they did not need it they would not ask & because they are all local we see it more & feel it on a more personal level , i know John McBride quite well although i have nver spoken to Nicky Crowe he has provided some of the greatest sidecar driving we have ever witnessed on this Island & given great entertainment to the spectators along with Mark & varous other passengers over the years , last year with Moly was the stuff of epics . i think we all know Nicky is in a very bad way at the moment .

The point i am making is that whilst i agree on a central fund which i am sure many supporters would subscribe to , the main support comes from family & friends & locallity which is where the main fund raising is done & where the people know the competitors personally , which is exactlly what ishappening at the moment , Rosie & Hayley are working there socks off to hepl Nicky & Mark & the TMs are planning events to hep John Mc because he is one of theirs & needs help it is a natural reaction to support a local person , we see all the time various funds to help riders injured everywhere & i can guarantee that nine times out of ten if you dont know the rider you wont dip your hand in your pocket to hepl , which is natural i do it myself.

I think the overall here is the people who want to help & there friends or loved ones should not have to justify it to anyone , at the end o f the day you dont have to if you dont want to & if no one got of there ass they would have nothing .

As said just my point not preaching or having a go at anyone . Shaun Hogg