Visitors Survey Shows Dislike for New MGP

Feedback from visitors to this year’s MGP showed dissatisfaction with the event’s new shorter format.

Changes were made to the MGP format this year, cutting it down to nine days, with organisers saying it was necessary to sustain the event going forward.

The shortening of the event came about because of shortages of volunteers, race officials, medics and marshals, which organisers, the Manx Motor Cycle Club, said made its staging unsustainable in its longer format.

While the event, including its scheduling, is organised by the MMCC, the Department for Enterprise carried out its annual visitor survey, which looks at travel, accommodation and local expenditure to gauge the event’s economic benefit.

When asked about feedback on the event by David Asford (Douglas North), DfE Minister Lawrie Hooper said his department ‘didn’t actively seek feedback on the schedule’, but had engaged with organisers for their experiences and feedback. 

Mr Hooper added: ‘Some visitors used this [the visitor survey] as an opportunity to provide separate feedback about the new format.

‘While it is fair to say that this feedback expressed dissatisfaction with the shortened format, ultimately it did not address the fundamental operational issues that are recognised as insurmountable in delivering the event to a two-week format.

‘As this year also saw fans who had booked back in 2019 and had their bookings rolled forward, there will also have been an audience of visitors who had booked expecting a longer racing format.’

Mr Hooper’s response further highlights the difference between those involved in organising and competing in the MGP and its fans, without which the event will not survive. 

When announcing the format for next year’s event, John McBride, chairman of the MMCC, said there was an ‘overwhelmingly positive response from marshals, officials, riders and teams to the new-look five-race programme that attracted a strong quality of entry that saw some great racing out on the TT Mountain Course, and was delivered with significantly reduced time pressures’.

Future

Despite acknowledging the dissatisfaction with this year’s event, organisers and Mr Hooper have confirmed that the MGP will run to the new shorter timetable next year.

He said: ‘As stated before, this two week schedule is, in the opinions of the organisers and key stakeholders not sustainable and it will be 2023 and beyond before the full impact of the changes can be fully understood.’

The centenary celebrations will get underway on Sunday August 20 and finish on Monday August 28 2023 and will include a programme of events designed to mark its history and future. 

While the future of the MGP is seemingly fixed for next year, what is still unclear is what will happen with next year’s TT.

Eventually bowing to public pressure around the revised schedule, Chief Minister Alf Cannan ordered a second consultation into proposals, which included racing on Mad Sunday and moving Senior Race Day to the end Saturday.

Mr Hooper recently told Gef that the government should announce its plans for TT23 shortly.

He said: ‘We’ve seen the results in the department already, so the next step is to get them published. I’ve actually been emailing the motorsport team today about making sure that information gets up to CoMin and then to the public, so I expect there will be a decision announced on the results of that and what that means for the future of the TT hopefully relatively soon.’

The original consultation, held in 2021, had a small response and of those who did engage, including visiting marshals, were against the planned changes.