(03-06-2015, 02:37 PM)desmophile Wrote: No surprise that as usual the chairs get bumped. You really have to take your hat off to the riders and passengers who return year after year to be treated as less important than the solos.

It's 'cos they know that the pecking order is bikes first, slideys second; the slideys are just 1/5th of the race classes of the festival, the rest being solos, so they realise the solos are mostly going to be first priority (I say mostly, however I think it was last year when they put the slideys out first in one session as the weather had ruined most of their practice during the week. And if I remember correctly, they repaid that gesture by leaving an oil slick most of the way around the island, killing off the solo practice sessions that followed).

If the slideys decided to not come any more then the TT would still continue, but not the other way around. Closer To The Edge was all about the solo stars; Joey was a solo rider; Ago was a solo rider, Hailwood was a solo rider; McGuiness - solo rider; Hutchy - Solo; Mickey Dunlop - Solo; Martin (the biggest star the TT has seen with regards to appealing to people who wouldn't follow bike/real road racing) - Solo rider.

Might not be fair, but the majority of people go to the TT to see the solos, and then watch the sidecars 'cos they're on the same billing.  (actually, most people go to watch the bikes, get cheesed, and try and talk to the locals, plus ride a few laps - or was that just me??)