I have watched racing for 30 years and I have never understud why riders are allowed to tour in whilst other riders are still racing,yes I know flags will or should be waved,but at the TT with speeds being so high in places riders sometimes have little warning.I am aware riders may need to get back for the next race or are just trying to get back to fix the bike,but I for one think this practice must come to an end and riders be told to park up in a safe place and retire.

THE RULES STATE NO TOURING !
You are right in saying but when you're a rider you just want to be out
there, its hard for some to park up and walk away..............
I have had this problem in last years MGP Ultra-light weight on both near end of second and last laps, it totally b*****ed my laps up coz I was put under yellow flag whilst dicing to catch a rider in front of me, very frustrating I tell you !

Was this years fataliyu not caused by the rider touring and no yellow flags

At the riders briefings all competitors were told that anyone "Touring" would be disqualified from the meeting.

There was more than a little anger in the paddock when no action was taken over riders who broke the rule.

A rider, with many years experience at the TT and MGP, told me "If it had been any of us," from the lower half of the grid, "we would have been hung, drawn and quartered and then staked out on the Terminal Building"

Spot on Charly, thats always been the trouble at the TT, the privateers get poo on all the Time. What the TT urgently needs is independant strong riders reps who have no conection with the big teams or DTL. Shaun Harris amd Bud Jackson would be ideal for the Job.
As for the rules they only apply to the ptivateers, example, on friday 2mins before the start of the race Eddy Nelson decided to have a go at us for having an armoured cable onto the grid for the tyre warmers, we were warned and told to remove but nothing was said to the big boys who had been using them all week.

The same old story one rule for these big teams, who can do as they please and us privateers who do as we are told. Its upto the race officials to enforce the rules that they can quote chapter and verse at the drop of hat. At the end of the day its a safety issue and the culprits punished severely like a years ban.

Was I imagining it when I saw some of the top teams in the BBC coverage doing tyre changes with impact guns then?

Seems strange to me that a certain Mr.Nelson was nowhere to be seen when the ACU were 'running' the TT but now they are here shouting the odds .Of course previously they couldn't criticise themselves but now the not inconsiderable weight of EN is being thrown about with abandon.

P**s off is what I say.

As for the rules surely we all realise its not what, but who you know.Wouldn't be nice if the CoC had the test tickles to enforce the regs instead of having a quiet word not to do it again

Tomcat you did see impact drivers being used by some of the big teams it was not your imagination

To be honest Tom it was clear as daylight on the BBC feature, and I can't see a problem with it. I'm surprised to hear people were apparently told not to, unless that was referring to cordless power tools which of course are not fire safe. Air tools used with small compressed air bottles would have been OK, I'd have thought.

Edit, sorry, going off topic!

I was also told in the paddock, that after the restart following the the Ballahuchin accident, Cameron Donald was touring at the Bungalow and was clipped by Ian Lougher (allegedly)...see how careful I'm being now :?

The consequences of that being worse don't need to be thought about.

It seems I have got plenty of support on my thoughts,so what next? do the MMCC have any form of public debate on these sort of matters,or should it be the ACU? The most important thing is to get it sorted so there are no more incidents caused by riders touring in.Like most people I find some rules seem pointless but some should be stuck to and be enforced to the hilt no matter who's involved big name or not.

It seems some riders will continue to tour regardless of the rules,so they are then black flagged but they black flagging points are roughly 7 miles apart,a long way to go before being pulled off,sorry stopped.

Sounds like a good case for more black flags.

I been watching this topic and it was my belief also that this years fatality was as a consequence of 'touring' for whatever reason. I thought touring was outlawed after the death of Sam McClements at the Carrowdore 100 races?

I think it's a bit inconsistent when certain rules are applied vigourously (Hutchy disqualifaction) and others which could result in more serious outcomes are not!

Accidents can happen in a matter of a few metres if a rider slows abruptly, and slipstreaming is common on the IoM. And as said you can have somebody touring for a mile or more before they are black flagged. This is plenty of time for somebody else to come round a blind bend or over a brow and find someone straight in front of them...

If you have a machine problem it's understandable to see if the problem clears and in any case you don't want to be diving for the next parking spot at the first sign of an engine cough! I'm sure most riders are well aware of the issues and I have no doubt this will feature prominently in riders briefings, but I don't think you'll ever stop it completely.

I believe we need a new ACU no-touring licence where riders must be able to prove that they have done 6 short circuit meetings without being seen touring.

you'd think that lessons would have been learned after the norman brown - peter huber incident at the "safe" silverstone circuit. a place where you can see for miles in front of you. when was that? 25 years ago nearly. touring on a road circuit is paramount to suicide - it needs to be stopped now. get the bike and yourself out of the way, yes, but touring for mile after mile? madness.
ade!