TT 2017

[Roger Mexico]

On 31/08/2017 at 2:06 PM, La Colombe said:

Manx Radio have taken a peculiar angle on this FOI release. Rather than the cost of £86,000 for removing and replacing the cones as the system allows for actual racing, MR seem to have read it as a physical cost of the cones themselves. A one off expense, rather than a regular ongoing one. Most confusing. 

"More than £ 86,000 spent replacing cones

Resurfacing work around the Mountain Course has so far cost government more than a quarter of a million pounds.

The bulk of the costs were incurred at the Bungalow, as Chris Cave reports:

The bill for a new surface on that particular stretch of road totaled £175,000, with the Sulby Straight (£70,000) and Alpine Corner (£21,250) also needing work.

The figures have been released in answer to a freedom of information request.

Other high fees revealed relating to maintaining the roads around the TT course show it cost government around £3,750 to have the correct road signs in place.

Elsewhere, more than £86,000 worth of cones had to be replaced and staff on the access road were paid more than £7,000.

Government did say, however, the work was carried out as part of an ongoing maintenance schedule and not at the request of race organisers."

23 hours ago, woolley said:

Probably not so much a peculiar angle as someone has just plain not understood it. It happens all the time in the media nowadays. Could be because information is put out so immediately that it doesn't get the same scrutiny as it once did. One quick reading by somebody who takes a mistaken view and then comments further on it without anyone checking.

A day later it still hasn't been corrected either and there are other things in the report that suggest that understanding of the FoI request was sketchy at best.  But the more interesting thing here is about news values.  Because if, as they seem to believe, the £86,000 was used to buy new cones - where did they all go.  A quick google suggests a cone only costs around a tenner, so we're talking many thousands being required for just one job.  Of course if they had investigated and then discovered their mistake, then they would be asking why it cost so much to put out and collect them.

It's the sort of story a traditional tabloid would jump on, the sort of 'everyday' spending that people understand.  IOM Newspapers have just picked up the FoI request, but only in the usual copy and paste way (which means that they at least get the details right, I suppose).  But there just seems the assumption that any spending on the TT (or claimed to be for the TT) is automatically justified and questioning it is somehow unpatriotic.  This results in the attitude we saw from the DED in the Committee hearings.  They didn't seem to know or care what things cost or if it was good value or what benefits there were.

[paswt]

1 hour ago, manxb&b said:

Can't see how they would get a one way system to work for the FOM/MGP. They're struggling for marshals as it is and with the amount of time it takes to get them off the mountain during TT that would probably mean still being up there in the dark at this time of year (after practice) and I can't see many signing up for that. Maybe if they did away with the cones things would move better and save money.

Spot on "manxb&b" they were down to 'minimum numbers' on many practice and race days and a few marshals have indicated to me that they'll give marshalling a "swerve" on the mountain if they make the mountain "one way" during MGP.

Just saying

[WTF]

14 minutes ago, paswt said:

Spot on "manxb&b" they were down to 'minimum numbers' on many practice and race days and a few marshals have indicated to me that they'll give marshalling a "swerve" on the mountain if they make the mountain "one way" during MGP.

Just saying

 

2 hours ago, manxb&b said:

Can't see how they would get a one way system to work for the FOM/MGP. They're struggling for marshals as it is and with the amount of time it takes to get them off the mountain during TT that would probably mean still being up there in the dark at this time of year (after practice) and I can't see many signing up for that. Maybe if they did away with the cones things would move better and save money.

 the mountain was one way with NO cones originally and that allowed for greater speed,  the cones were added to slow folks down.  also you had the police telling you that even though the road was one way the double white lines were still in effect so you shouldn't be in the north bound carriageway in some places even though there were no cones,  on the radio a police spokesman was saying there were dangers so not to cross the double white lines but was unable to state what exactly these dangers were with no traffic coming the other way.  it just came across as a cake and eat it situation with a heavy coat of BS to limit the amount of road and therefore the speed.

[La Colombe]

On 6/7/2017 at 4:26 PM, La Colombe said:

Oh dear, another fatality has just been announced on the radio, 28 year old Dutchman Jochem van den Hoek was killed in today's RL360 Quantum Superstock TT race. I think the incident happened on the first lap but luckily the race managed to carry on to the end. 

Misadventure verdict on Dutch TT rider...

Racer died during 2017 Superstock race

A court's heard how a popular TT rider died 'following his passion'.

Twenty-eight-year-old Dutch rider Jochem van den Hoek was involved in a fatal incident during this year's Superstock race.

He lost control of his bike at the 11th Milestone on his first lap of the contest on 7 June - colliding with the fencing at the side of the course.

Coroner of Inquests John Needham said the Honda rider suffered a 'momentary misjudgment in line or speed' as he approached the bend.

Mr Needham praised the efforts of marshals who did their best to assist Mr van den Hoek; and delivered a verdict of misadventure.