The changing face of the TT
The Isle of Man TT has faced many challenges since that first race around the St John’s course in 1907.
The unique road race has weathered storm after storm, with the amazing racing, strong support and the event’s incredible spirit helping it overcome the trials and tribulations.
Rarely a year has passed in recent times when the future of the TT hasn’t been in question, but with the Centenary just days away, its future looks secure.
In large part that is due to a new attitude towards the TT. It has been through a painful process of self-examination and emerged in a stronger position than it has enjoyed for many years.
Not everyone has supported every change, but few can deny the strength of this year’s field, the huge commercial investment from big-name sponsors and the massive number of fans due to visit the Isle of Man indicate the process has been positive for the TT.
A driving force behind many of the changes has been Paul Phillips TT and Motorsport Development Manager at the Isle of Man Government’s Department of Tourism and Leisure.
The Manx-born 28-year-old grew up yards from the TT course and now lives near the circuit in Ramsey, with wife Julie and their daughter Molly.
Here, in the first of a two-part interview, Paul explains his background, what his job entails and the challenges the TT faced when he took on the role.
‘Until last year I was working in IT in the Island’s financial centre, but, after my family and friends, road racing, and in particular the TT, has always been my life.’
‘My family, and especially my dad, are mad on racing, and he raced before going on to wield the spanners for many riders over the years, something he still does. We were dragged round bike race after bike race as a family when my brother and I were growing up, and I turned into a bit of an anorak and hero-worshipped Joey, Hizzy and Foggy and all the other top riders at the time.'
‘As I got a bit older I started putting together some road racing web sites, including RealRoadRacing.Com, which grew very popular, and I was also doing some freelance journalism writing for racing mags like Motor Cycle News, Irish Racer, Road Racing Ireland and numerous others. I was also starting to help guys out securing sponsorship and working with some of the race teams at the time to find riders to ride for them and that kind of thing.’
‘For a while I helped lots of riders starting out to get some sponsorship in, putting together portfolios etc, and it developed to the stage where I worked pretty closely with more established riders like Ian Lougher, Seamus Greene, Gary Carswell, Guy Martin, Martin Finnegan, Nigel Beattie, Conor Cummins and many others, but in particular Milky (Richard Quayle) for whom, amongst other things, I managed to secure the bike he won his TT on.’
‘My job title is outrageously grand – TT and Motorsport Development Manager. I work for the Department of Tourism and Leisure and, as motorsport accounts for such a high percentage of the Island’s leisure visitors, there is an explicit need for a team to work with event organisers to help them develop their events.’
‘In time my small team and I will start to focus on the Island’s overall motorsport strategy, but it was always understood by the senior management at the Department that until the Centenary TT is over, we would have to work 100 per cent on ensuring that this event is a success.’
‘When it comes to the TT, despite what some people think, I don’t actually organise the races! I’m not the Rider Liaison Officer either, something I did do previously on a volunteer basis with Milky, although much of that role is still carried out by my team. I am responsible for promoting the event, developing it for the future, managing the commercial and infrastructural elements to the event, working with the various groups involved, from the riders and teams to event volunteers, to make sure they are all getting what they want from the event and I am also responsible for managing the all-important budget.’
‘In 2003 and 2004 the TT was being heavily criticised for all manner of reasons by the competitors, teams, manufacturers, fans, media – just about anyone with an interest. ’03 and ’04 were certainly watershed years for the TT, and I think really it was the end of a build up of problems over several years, when there was a reluctance to change and the TT had become out of sync with the rest of the racing world and it was suffering.’
‘The event’s credibility in the motorcycle industry had diminished, the manufacturers had lost interest, and the entry was in no way acceptable for an International Road Race in terms of the standard.’
‘Safety standards were coming in for criticism and the general organisation of the races had become somewhat dated.’
‘From a promotional point of view, there was no professional PR expertise available to the event and it wasn’t being publicised anywhere near the level you would expect. The commercial assets like trackside advertising, the programme, the website, the radio broadcast – all these things were working haphazardly and there were no opportunities to attract investment through sponsorship, something which is a mainstay in any big sporting event.’
‘The TT brand didn’t really exist either, and the event didn’t have control of its own identity therefore the ability to raise money for itself was non-existent. With rapidly rising costs this one area in particular has been of major concern to us since we became involved.'
‘The future for the TT pre-2005 was unclear to be honest, but I am pretty pleased to be able to say that isn’t the case any more, and the talk of the TT ending after the Centenary seems to have all but fizzled out. That in itself has been quite an achievement for everyone currently involved!’
‘The TT is funded by Government 100 per cent. They fund it for two reasons, which are linked to their six key aims – to promote the Island’s positive national identity and to drive economic development.’
‘The TT gets a big tick in both these areas, but in recent years the cost to run the event has risen considerably. Cost is, without doubt, the biggest threat to the TT, and there isn’t an endless source of money. It belongs to the taxpayer after all and he or she demands value for money. So the books had to balance, which is why the approach to managing the commercial assets has changed.’
‘As for promoting the Island’s positive national identity, as the event’s reputation deteriorated, which it was doing at quite a rapid rate, its ability to meet this criteria was dwindling.’
‘The TT is so high profile and it has such an incredible history, it means that it operates from inside a goldfish bowl, and the eyes of the world are always on you. To maintain the credibility for it to survive the standards in all areas have to be as high as possible and attention to detail is essential. I think the levels of professionalism in all areas of the TT organisation have risen beyond recognition over the past 24 months.’
Tomorrow, Paul explains some of the changes, why they were necessary and responds to criticism of the TT.