In the sixties they had ,the maroon before the start of a tt race,can anyone throw a light on this.

(29-03-2011, 09:19 PM)pitlane07 Wrote: In the sixties they had ,the maroon before the start of a tt race,can anyone throw a light on this.

I remember the sound of the maroon going off, being a 'young fella' at the time,it was always an impressive way to start the race. Not sure why it stopped, possibly on safety grounds.

It used to be great, standing up at Keppel Gate and hearing the maroon go bang way back in Douglas to tell us that the flag had dropped to start the race. This was in the days when few of us had radios and it was well before people like me can sit with lap tops in a pub garden and hear the pre-race and race commentaries and follow the racing.

Yes Folks, there used to be a time when we stood at certain vantage points on the course, heard the maroon go bang and then it would be a while before the bikes came round.

Then, in the sixties we could hear the MVs and Hondas start off, right up at the Creg ! Then came the wonders of portable radios and some course loudspeakers. Modern times had arrived ! Yet the Boy Scouts still run round the scoreboards with bits of paper !

I wish they would set off maroons this year to commemorate the 100 years of the Mountain Course. This is what's called nostalgia and should include occasions that should not be forgotten.. I still would like to see a Dunlop Clock Tower this year, again to help us remember the past. We are hoping to re-create an early morning practice but we need a steamy Tea Tent to make it more realistic.

What else would you like to see again ? A Weigh In ? A shop making IOM Rock ? There is so much we could do to commemorate 100 years.

(30-03-2011, 12:34 PM)ian huntly Wrote: It used to be great, standing up at Keppel Gate and hearing the maroon go bang way back in Douglas to tell us that the flag had dropped to start the race. This was in the days when few of us had radios and it was well before people like me can sit with lap tops in a pub garden and hear the pre-race and race commentaries and follow the racing.

Yes Folks, there used to be a time when we stood at certain vantage points on the course, heard the maroon go bang and then it would be a while before the bikes came round.

Then, in the sixties we could hear the MVs and Hondas start off, right up at the Creg ! Then came the wonders of portable radios and some course loudspeakers. Modern times had arrived ! Yet the Boy Scouts still run round the scoreboards with bits of paper !

I wish they would set off maroons this year to commemorate the 100 years of the Mountain Course. This is what's called nostalgia and should include occasions that should not be forgotten.. I still would like to see a Dunlop Clock Tower this year, again to help us remember the past. We are hoping to re-create an early morning practice but we need a steamy Tea Tent to make it more realistic.

What else would you like to see again ? A Weigh In ? A shop making IOM Rock ? There is so much we could do to commemorate 100 years.

A weigh in would be fantastic, but not sure the modern teams would think much of their bikes being locked up in Mylcreests showrooms the night before the race- but what a spectacle it was when they were ridden in line to the weigh in.
Oh dear, am I showing my age now?

No, I agree that the bikes couldn't be locked up, but you have hit the nail on the head when you say it would be great to see what was involved in the weigh in...It need only be a few bikes with a couple of top riders there as well. I think there is a danger of forgetting the old ways and I'm sure people would like to be reminded and the newer group of fans shown what was the TT opf not that long ago.

So we have a simulated early morning practice and a possible weigh in on the cards ??

We had the commemoration of the first TT, this could be just as mremorable in this year.

Any chance, TT Organisers ??

(30-03-2011, 01:41 PM)ian huntly Wrote: No, I agree that the bikes couldn't be locked up, but you have hit the nail on the head when you say it would be great to see what was involved in the weigh in...It need only be a few bikes with a couple of top riders there as well. I think there is a danger of forgetting the old ways and I'm sure people would like to be reminded and the newer group of fans shown what was the TT opf not that long ago.

So we have a simulated early morning practice and a possible weigh in on the cards ??

We had the commemoration of the first TT, this could be just as mremorable in this year.

Any chance, TT Organisers ??

Lets have pint okells 5d mcourts oyster bar on strand st,dozen oysters half a crown 12p to the youngsters of today ,Flo gelling serving pints of good real ale at the Halfway house,and their used to be a cafe,on north quay dglas,waiters wore collar ties and a white aprons.God im becoming a sad old git,but pleasant times.

No pitlane07,not a sad old git,just a chap remembering some :good ole times:.My first tt was 1959,3 day trip from FLEETWOOD ,10 years old. Missed the junior ,ran home from school to hear 10 minute bbc news ,Murray Walker telling the tale,saw the 3 races on wednesday from Nursery bends,then saturdays delayed senior from Hillberry,taxi back to finish to see John Surtees bing lifted from the MV frozen to the bone,and then that long horrible trip back to Fleetwood,so much sick on the floor you could barely stand up. Never missed for next 40 years,then everything got the same.going back this year for manx ,my son has an entry,my interest is returning.AND YES,I heard the maroon from Nursery and Hillberry,like you,some things you never forget.Oh God,maybe i,m a sad old git too. Well,i know where there,s plenty more so the company,s good:ob Mc rode like a demon that day. Did i mention the stench on the boat? That,s something i,d rather forget

(12-05-2011, 10:43 PM)ian charlton Wrote: No pitlane07,not a sad old git,just a chap remembering some :good ole times:.My first tt was 1959,3 day trip from FLEETWOOD ,10 years old. Missed the junior ,ran home from school to hear 10 minute bbc news ,Murray Walker telling the tale,saw the 3 races on wednesday from Nursery bends,then saturdays delayed senior from Hillberry,taxi back to finish to see John Surtees bing lifted from the MV frozen to the bone,and then that long horrible trip back to Fleetwood,so much sick on the floor you could barely stand up. Never missed for next 40 years,then everything got the same.going back this year for manx ,my son has an entry,my interest is returning.AND YES,I heard the maroon from Nursery and Hillberry,like you,some things you never forget.Oh God,maybe i,m a sad old git too. Well,i know where there,s plenty more so the company,s good:ob Mc rode like a demon that day. Did i mention the stench on the boat? That,s something i,d rather forget

Who remembers, when riders, entrants,trade barons, the press and officials turned out for the "weigh in" dressed formally in suits and or smart sports jackets and wearing ties. And people respected each other and addressed them as Mr or Mrs. And..... the bikes being tied through the front wheel to a wooden post, over night with a piece of "official" rope ! There was no bad language, and people respected each other.

Yes MR Slinn I do remember those times very well.One thing sadly missing now is the prize giving in the villa marina grounds.After a real unlucky week suffering break-downs whilst leading both the lightweight and junior races,Bob Mc was played up to the stand by bagpipes,flower of Scotland or hey ho the pipers calling,Ian might correct me,for his 2nd place in the Senior behind Mike. 1961.Another wonderfull memory from 1962 was seeing Vittorio Carruna and another mechanic riding Mike and Gary Hockings350 mv,s along the sea front and being waved through up broadway on the way to the weigh in.we,ll never see the likes of that again.A full days racing and a full evening within yards of our heroes,great memories to savor for a lifetime. Unfortunately,now a race day seems to be so short,start late ,finish early,presentation before the race has even finished,wang-bang-wallop,bit like work really.But it,s still going thankfully.

Acknowledgement is made to Morton's Motorcycle Media for the "Motorcycling" page "lifted" from the blog of Dennis Quinlan, and for which I am most appreciative.

...................and here we are in 2011 and MotoGP intend looking into weights of bike and rider combined.....

This time I think it is going to be more allied to jockey/horse situations whereas in the past the weigh in was for another reason...

Anybody got the reply to this please ??

I might have this completely wrong but weren't racers weighed too? I've a hazy memory of reading that female passenger Rosette Arnold (now known as Rose Hanks) had weights about her person to make her up to the requisite 9 stone. I can't have made that story up, surely!