Study re: feasability of having Isle of Man TT World Championship!

[CDN zx6r]

I would love to see this happen! Can anyone think of a good road circuit in Canada? Let's have them come to Ontario, Canada!


http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/raci...nt=LiveJournal

[FiReSTaRT]

We should have a welcoming committee of black and white cars with their welcoming impound notices and a pitchfork/torch-wielding MADD mob.. Welcome to Ontario, the funnest place on Earth, we have curling rinks

[Garyola]

There was something in the works a few years back that was much like this. You can find it online somewhere. An IoM style race to take place on the east coast. Nova Scotia I believe.

G

[Jayv]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/isleofman/conte..._feature.shtml

[eastcoast_gsx]

Newfoundland or Cape Breton NS would be ideal.

[kneedragger88]

I cant imagine this ever flying. I know the hoops that have to be leaped through to get insurance on a track. I would bet that if I called to see about a TT style event they would laugh hysterically before they hang up on me. Next problem would be shutting down public roads in order to run it. The county involved would also want coverage for contestants, spectators as well as property damage. Assuming that you can clear all that then you have to look at haybales,airfence,marshmallows......... to cover everything on a highway. So after spending tens of thousands of dollars to put this together you need enough spectators to pay for it. As it would have to be in a very rural area how many can you actually expect? What can you charge? How can you control them (always asked by insurance carriers)?
Somehow rallies like Tall Pines and Targa do it but both are cars and not bikes.
I too would like to see it but am not holding my breath.

[omnivore]

Over on advrider.com, a while back someone posted a video of road/sport/supermoto bikes all competing on closed pubblic roads, ranging from hgihways, to paved backroads, to crappy gravel roads with shallow water crossings, all in one race. It was awesome.

I searched for it and can't find it, otherwise I'd post up a link for you guys.

[fastar1]

Somehow rallies like Tall Pines and Targa do it but both are cars and not bikes.

Tall Pines doesn't do it. They cordon off a tiny section of the stage for spectators, making it impossible to actually appreciate the race.

But other than that yeah, you're 100% on the money.

[FiReSTaRT]

I agree with the author of that article that we're dealing with major cultural differences. As Canadians, we're conservative, bureaucratic, afraid of taking risks and even more afraid of allowing others to take risks or even make a bit of noise. We built our political bureaucracy and economy based on that, so in addition to just not having enough of a fan base, we have a bureaucracy and an economy that are hostile to motorcycling. Progressive thinkers like Councilman Case are few and far between.
As Ken mentioned, just getting a race track sanctioned is a ***** and a half. You'll have environmentalists grumbling, you'll have people complaining about the noise, you'll have insurers, you'll have the police holding up a race because someone crashed. I'm just waiting for the new legislation introducing mandatory pit-stops every other lap to get burped by a nanny.

[omnivore]

Got it.:
Dark Dog Rally!!
Badass!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oJ6b...x=7&playnext=2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR0gj...D1B56C&index=5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewviL...8F4D3161D1B56C

Best one I can find:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eJL4...feature=fvwrel

[mxs]

Will never happen here ... at least there's nothing I've heard which would led me believe otherwise.

This is how it's done in Europe where I come from. Nothing close to popularity of IOM, but pretty decent road racing. Not tens of thousands of spectators, but a lot by Canadian standards. Everybody having good time. I was lucky because my parents live inside the road course. The below image was shot from about 10 meters from the road. Just a "do not cross tape" between spectators and the road ...

[eastcoast_gsx]

They tried to have on in Cape Breton once not too long ago.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/isleofman/conte..._feature.shtml

http://forums.banditalley.net/index.php?topic=3051.0

We suck

[Ben G]

Mmmmmm...... how about a WSBK or MotoGP race .......... I mean, not as important as the Isle Of Man (FYI........went in 1982/83/84 and the Manx GP) if we can't get a world class closed corse race how are we going to get a real "road race"....... BG

[D23]

Too much of a cultural difference and not enough race fans here. Canadian kids don't grow up on Motocross bikes like Europian kids do. They don't have the oppertunity to get into race programs as children or choose racers as their heros. This is Hockey land.... X Box land....

Targa might be the only organisation that could assist in something like this and see it through to the end. Regardless, it wouldn't happen in Ontario. We have a better chance of Getting MOTO GP here.

Perhaps the oganisers could use the Targa model to see what kind of logistics/cost was involved. Those event organisers that tried this the last time in Cape Breton were their own worst enimies. Had they done the work, they could have probably pulled it off. Nobody was at fault for that crashing and burning besides them.

[mxs]

Too much of a cultural difference and not enough race fans here. Canadian kids don't grow up on Motocross bikes like Europian kids do. They don't have the oppertunity to get into race programs as children or choose racers as their heros. This is Hockey land.... X Box land....

I am not sure I agree as far as kids having easier access to racing in Europe. Europe is a big place, where this is definitely true for some countries (Spain, Italy, UK ...), but not so much for others. Where I come from, I see Canada having more options for people who want to get into racing in young age, yet the sport is not doing very well here. Considering race tracks, there's about 4 within my driving distance here, but only one back home (and that's where MotoGP, WSBK races go on .... so chances you get there are pretty slim, unless you are really good ...). So naturally, they end up road racing. The huge difference is that the road racing has all kinds of vintage classes with older folks keeping it up and the following is absolutely huge. Another difference is insurance and laws .... we certainly don't get sued over a spilled hot chocolate in Europe LOL and the insurance rates in general are much much lower, pretty much for anything which certainly gives organizers breathing room and options.

Do you think that my dad loves to have a house inside a road racing track? He hates it and many other people with him. Yet, the race happens every year ...... in Ontario one letter would shut the idea down. Over there, politicians are busy getting greedy, not having time to listen or read letters from the constituents ...

[D23]

Well, I'm from Belfast and it was either Motocross or football. Lots of the kids had dirt bikes/track bikes/carts, in the city and were local racing. Much like when I moved here and the kids seemed to play hockey (which costs a lot if your gearing a growing goalie) in the winter and baseball/American football in the summer. There was motocross but no kids racing tarmac. I dunno. Even now, I remember more MC tracks that are gone than that are around Ontario..


So, the event would have to be run on racer entry fees primarily. Or sponsorship.

One thing I was looking at was Gran Manan Island. I remember driving the coastal road wishing I had a bike instead of Cavalier. Those people are laid back and would probably love an event like that. Not like Ontario.

Not the best example of location but in the theme of TT.

[CDN zx6r]

Some solid points, and good ideas. I'm sure the chances of such an event are pretty slim. Thinking about this, and the seemingly endless barriers motorcyclists face just to be able to race, has made me appreciate the places that there are to race, and those who make that possible. I'm just a wannabe racer, that owns a sport bike, but it sure is nice to know that there are options out there. I'm going to try to do my part in keeping our sport alive and well here in Ontario, Canada, and thanks to all of you who have done, or will be making a positive contribution to the sport. And in the meantime, I guess we can always dream of a world where everyone loves racing, and motorcycles, let's just hope the haters hurry and wake up!