Isle of Man TT “achieved what we wanted to” despite cancelled Monday practice

Isle of Man TT Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson says the event organisation “achieved what we wanted to” on Monday despite practice being cancelled.

Practice for the road race was cancelled on Monday after the speed controlled lap for the Newcomers, but before any of the one-lap free practices had begun.

The reason was a combination of wet patches around the course, as well as light rain at the start line before the start of the Supersport and Supertwin session, and the expectation of rain to continue into the afternoon.

Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson said afterwards that the event had “achieved what we wanted to” on Monday despite the cancellation, as at least the Newcomers were able to complete their first lap.

“We’ve had to take the decision to cancel the rest of today’s schedule, which was going to be free practice for all the solos and sidecars,” Thompson said in a video from the Isle of Man TT.

“We gave it a go this morning, obviously we were aware there was a weather front coming in but we were expecting that weather front to come in slightly later.

“So, we got the Newcomers’ Lap out the way for both solos and sidecars, but unfortunately the rain came in earlier than expected.

“We’ve achieved what we wanted to today: we’ve got the Newcomer laps out the way, so that’s good; and we now look forward to going Tuesday evening.”

Thompson added that more rain is expected Tuesday evening, but that from Wednesday things look more positive.

“There is another weather front coming in on Tuesday evening, so we have to take that as it comes and try to get all the sessions out,” he said.

“But, if not, we’re looking good for Wednesday; Wednesday and the rest of the week is looking much more positive. We’ve got a high pressure coming in on Wednesday, and that’s due to last for a couple of days.

“So, we’ll try tomorrow, but if not then we’re going to go on Wednesday evening.

“I just want to thank everyone for their patience; obviously for this morning we had to close the roads and we had to go through a comprehensive road closure procedure, so I thank everyone for their patience and resilience, and really look forward to working with everybody throughout the rest of the TT.”