The Clerk of the Course says riders competing on the Mountain Course can be brought back to The Grandstand the wrong way around the circuit in ‘extreme circumstances’.
It happened on Sunday after a red flag in the first qualifying session of the 2024 Manx Grand Prix following an incident which saw the death of rider Louis O’Regan.
The decision led to social media speculation with many referring back to an incident at TT six years ago when racer Steve Mercer was involved in a collision with a course inspection car.
Siobhan Fletcher sat down with Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson before Tuesday's abandoned qualifying session to find out more.
They talk GPS trackers, safety measures, weather and contingency planning.
- Gary Thompson and I'm the class of the course for the Mount Grand Prix. - So, with this situation that happened on Sunday, many people seem to be under the impression that riders shouldn't be returned against the normal flow of the course. Why were they on this occasion? - Yeah, so when it was on Sunday, we had this extreme circumstance where we had the incident took place at Kate's Cottage. We had riders red flagged in the classic Superbike Mount Grand Prix session all around the course. And there was only a handful of bikes that had gone through the incident. So, from Kregnebar back to the Grandstand, but all the other bikes were literally stopped from the Grandstand around, basically around to Kepelgate. So, we had the situation where the incident took place at 10 minutes to five. Obviously, it took a long time for the incident to be cleared. And in fact, I believe the roads actually got opened between the bungalow and Kregnebar at five past 10. So, the decision was taken in accordance with the procedures. We've now got outlined in the event safety plan to bring the riders back wrong direction under the control, speed control conditions of two traveling marshals. - So, could you just sort of explain under what circumstances you make that sort of decision? Like, what tips the balance what ultimately is, who ultimately has the say on this? Is it yourself? - Yeah, it is, it is me as the clerk of the course. And the decision for Sunday night was, is, you know, we had two options, basically. We could have left the riders out there, you know, for the duration of the incident. So, there would have been sat out there to, well, obviously to at least five past 10, 'cause we'd have had to have kept the course closed. And nobody wants that. Obviously, we've got marshals out there as well. So, nobody wants to keep the course closed and no longer than necessary. So, what we decided in conjunction with the police was to keep the course closed between the bungalow and Kregnebar. But before that, I took the decision to bring the riders back wrong direction, speed control between two traveling marshals. So, we've got comms at the front of the convoy and comms at the back. Obviously, everybody, all the competitors now have GPS trackers on their machines. And also, any other non-competitive vehicles. So, whether that's course cars, TTMA response cars, emergency vehicles, DIY vehicles, everybody's fitted with trackers. So, we would have known that had any vehicle or would have been notified by marshals, if any vehicle had entered the course without our authority to go course direction and could have met the convoy. We had assurance from all the sectors that the course was clear. There was no vehicles moving. So, then, obviously, we set the convoy off. - So, you mentioned their GPS trackers to sort of ensure that you can return riders to the Grandstand safely. Does that carry any risks and how are they sort of mitigated? - Well, no, it doesn't carry any risks now because as soon as any vehicle, well, even if they're not on the TT course, wherever they are on the island. If, as long as they've got a GPS tracker, we can see where they are on the island. So, we know where they are at all times. And the GPS tracking system is accurate. I think it's to within meters. So, there's no issue on that. And, you know, so all competitive machines have got the vehicle trackers, sorry, the GPS track is fitted, as have the two traveling marshals. They're fitted with comms. So, we knew where everybody was at all times on the course on Sunday night. - And we know there was, obviously, a very high profile incident in 2018 when riders were traveling in the opposite direction. So, can you understand why the public, perhaps, are alarmed when they see this happening before they've had this sort of explainer? - Absolutely. And I completely get that. But, as with anything, anything that series happens, we put in place procedures and since that incident, we've then introduced the GPS tracking system. And, you know, we've really tied it upon procedures. So, procedures, processes have evolved. And, you know, we, and I have to say that the marshals out on the course on Sunday night were brilliant. You know, they reported that nothing was moving. So, with every confidence, we were able to set off that convoy knowing the course was clear. - And so, obviously, now this is breaking down any misconceptions that the public may have. In terms of the riders, they were that they can be brought back under these conditions. There's certain expectations from them beyond, you know, obviously, you mentioned their speed control. So, do they know, okay, we're going the wrong way around the course. This is what the procedure is for me. How is it sort of communicated to them? - Yeah, so it's in the event safety plan, which they don't necessarily see. It was in the TT regulations for 2024. What we hadn't done, and obviously, what I've picked upon social media, which has been very much highlighted, what we didn't do was transpose that same sentence from the TT rakes into the underground pre-rakes. However, having said that, and this is the important bit, is that every single rider briefing, all the riders are briefed that in the event of red flag incident, they will be escorted back to the grandstand in course direction, bought in extreme circumstances, and at the clerk of the course's discretion, if the situation arises, I can bring them back in wrong direction, but it is in extreme circumstances. And they're all aware of that. - And the riders on Sunday were brought back because of the incident near Kate's cottage. We know there was also another incident in that area earlier on in the session, ahead of tonight's qualifying session. Were there any remedial works needed? Are you happy the course is in good condition? I had a practice today. - Yeah, we've done some work with the DOI. What we've done, the DOI have cleared out the goalie on the left-hand side, so to allow for the water to allow for a better drainage, basically it's what I'm trying to say. But the course inspection officer has been up. Where the damp hatch was on Sunday, and I'm not saying that's the course of the incident, but there was a damp hatch, which everybody was aware of. That was nowhere near as bad as it was for the TT, and it's even better what it was on Sunday night if we go out tonight. - And you say if we're fingers crossed, everything is gonna be in place. We know we've had an extended yellow weather warning in place for this week. From a logistical and organization point of view, how difficult does it make your job to, in terms of trying to get as many sessions as possible and plan around whether it's ever changing. We know on the island, it's ever changing. So what's the logic into whether the session goes, whether it doesn't, what do you do, how do you balance it all? - So basically, obviously, I along with everybody else, I've got, I've got, I've got, I've got, personally, I've got about four weather wraps on the phone, which, you know, which are fairly accurate, but obviously, I don't wear I in them solely. So I'm in constant contact with the weather met station down at Ronald's way. I have numerous conversations with them, and I'm gonna have another one in about half an hour at four o'clock. I'll get the latest update tonight. The latest update for tonight is that we may be hit by a couple of showers, but the other thing to take into consideration, consideration for me is the wind speed and the wind that increase. So, you know, I've gotta look at the wind speed as to how that affects the session. But in terms of going forward, I know for a fact that tomorrow's not looking good because of significant rainfall from lunchtime onwards. So tomorrow, although I don't want to say it's off yet, but obviously it is looking in doubt. Thursday afternoon's okay. The evening's not. Friday, Saturday, Sunday afternoon and Monday's okay. And the reason I say Friday evening and Sunday, obviously they're two contentious sessions as is Thursday, Thursday afternoon. I've already applied to the Department of Infrastructure this morning for the contentious sessions, which I've been given approval for. So I've now got approval to be able to run a session on Wednesday afternoon, Thursday afternoon, Friday evening, Sunday afternoon, if required. - Thank you for making it to the end of the Manks Radio Newscast. You are obviously someone with exquisite taste. May I politely suggest you might want to subscribe to this and a wide range of Manks Radio podcasts at your favourite podcast provider, so our best bits will magically appear on your smartphone. Thank you. (dramatic music) (upbeat music) [MUSIC]
