The devil is in the detail – that’s the reason behind a one-year delay before new TT promoter Vision Nine takes over the event. 

Economic Development Minister Laurence Skelly, said the TT plans were not in jeopardy, but the postponement until 2018 would give all parties more time to thrash out the finer details of the contract. 

‘This received outstanding support in Tynwald and we are now working with Vision Nine on the detailed points. There really is nothing to hide,’ he said. 

The multi-faceted nature of the TT means many different bodies are involved in its organisation, so the challenge is to establish the precise remit of each. 

For example, Vision Nine will take principal responsibility for promoting and publicising the event. But alongside that, the government’s own Motorsports Strategy Group, which includes members of the ACU that organise the races, will deal with organisational and operational matters. 

He pointed out there was also an impact on other bodies such as the government’s Department of Infrastructure, for road maintenance, Department of Health and Social Care, Treasury and roads policing. 

For example, if the targeted extra visitors arrive, there will be additional cost implications to factor in for those departments. ‘The challenge now is to decide exactly how each body’s responsibilities are to be divided up,’ he said. 

Commenting on the delay, he said: ‘We had to ensure that the integrity ofthe 2017 event was not in jeopardy. 

As far as finalising the contract is concerned, that is relatively close. It could be a couple of months away at the most, provided we don’t hit any further complications. It certainly won’t end up being at the last minute before TT 2018. Our expectation is that it will be some time next month.’ 

He added Vision Nine were agreeable to the delay and there was no likelihood of running a further procurement process to appoint a different promoter. 

‘The simple answer is that we have to get this right to preserve the integrity of the event,’ he said. 

Juan Turner MLC voted against the Tynwald motion to appoint Vision Nine as TT promoters and has since said that, when Tynwald returns, the government should refer the matter to the Tynwald standing committee on Economic Policy Review. 

Mr Turner raised concerns over how the contract was awarded to Vision Nine. He criticised the short time scale of the tender process and questioned projected visitor numbers targeted by Vision Nine. 

In March, the government announced it would appoint the London-based company as the new promoter for the TT and Classic TT events, with a start date planned for 2017. 

The company was to invest £2.5 million into the events after it took over from the government’s five-man team. 

Describing the project as a long-term investment, Vision Nine’s Julian Topham said their income would be from sponsorship and broadcasting deals. 

Three members of the original DED TT promotions team were to be given the option to work with Vision Nine, while the remaining two were to continue working for the government department. 

After the announcement was made, an online petition was started in March, calling on the government to reverse the decision to allow an external promoter to run the TT races. It now has more than 1,300 signatures.

John Turner