Can anyone please tell a new comer where to find an explanation of the rules governing pit stops? I've tried the web sites, the 2003 programme and all mags and newspapers I've come across but with no luck.

The ACU publishes a supplementary regulations booklet for competitors with all that sort of thing in.
The main one is that, at the TT, you must stop in the stop box, at the top of the pits and put your feet on the ground, before driving on into your pit. This is, of course, a safety measure.
Your pit is allocated a short time before the race, and will be based on a pattern which hopes to ensure that riders likely to come in for stops at the sam time are not in adjacent pits. Doesn't always work, but here you are.
There are regs about how much fuel / what kind etc, you can put in your filler, and when you have to remove any surplus.
Lots of fire regs, such as fire resistant overalls...
What else do you want to know?

Thanks. After posting this message I found and downloaded the ACU SRs, however, what I still don't know is how the timing works as the crews seem far more relaxed than, say, F1 car crews. Does the clock stop while riders are in the pits, is there a minimum/maximum stop time? Also is a pit stop mandatory for all other than sidecars and if so, what happens in a situation like the Prod 600s where the race is shortened to 2 laps and some riders have pitted while others haven't?

Time in the pits is added to their time, so a long pitstop can lose you a race and vice versa.
There is no compulsion to have a pitstop, but tank size regulations mean that most riders need at least one stop for fuel in most races. Shortened races may mean no stops, but that depends when the decision is taken..ie.. you may already have had your pitstop, and therefore you lose out compared to someone who scheduled a later stop.
Althought fuel stops may not be needed in some races, there is still a pitcrew, and it is OK to pit for a machine check etc.
Hope all that is clear...and that its accurate...I'm not an expert! Only pitted once, at the Manx, and nearly died of nerves!!

Thanks again, must be that bike pit crews are more in control than car crews! They certainly seem less frantic - or is it perhaps that the F1 car crews put on a bit of a show for the cameras?

Frantic just doesn't work very well...you drop things and trip over each other. As Bob Mac would say "Make haste slowly!"

The length of time is directly proportionate to the time it takes to put fuel in the bike. The stops look long because it takes forever to fill up. Therefor no point in rushing......but if you were a pit attendant I am sure time passes at a frantic rate. For the rider time stands still, its agonising.

Or, as I was told when an apprentice," If youve got to rush about to get your job done, you're doing summat wrong"

So,what about Manx GP 2002 pit stop Ammo?!!!!!!!!
In a hurry were you? lol

You are a wicked lady, hilary Musson....and you call ME a witch!!!!

If you are doing the Manx and owing to delays or bad weather your race starts as a three-lapper, it is prudent to do two laps before you come into the pit for fuel. That way you avoid an unnecessary stop if the race gets further cut to two laps half way through. Happened to me in the 1998 Lightweight TT and I lost six places.

lol. lol. lol.

ammo