Quiz master

Motorcycle road racing dried up a little during the summer months, so many fans turned to the internet for entertainment, in particular, to Barry Wood's TT Quiz League. After hours of research I began to think of revenge; turn the tables, I thought, ask the question master some difficult imponderables!! Barry was more than obliging …..

* After a non-season of road racing, you'll presumably be looking forward to 2002 - what are your racing plans?

Hopefully things will be much improved by the time next season comes around and all the road races can be run as normal. With all the money I dsidn't spend at the TT, I bought a R1 for the road, which I'd hope to race prepare for the F1 and Senior TTs, plus a few other races like the Southern 100 and possibly Jurby Road--- I haven't raced there since 1994, but I love the circuit! I'd really like to do more races on a modern 250 as that is really my class. 250s demand so much preparation time - time is something that I'm short of. I was going to rent a 250 for the TT and Southern 100; I may still do this in 2002, but it's a really expensive option.
Also, I'd most certainly be committed to the Classic road races, riding Dicky Watson's 250 Suzuki and John Turner's 350 and 500 Drixton Hondas in the Pre-TT Classic, Southern 100, Skerries, MGP and maybe a few other Irish road races. The latter all depends on the boats for Ireland, especially now that the organizers insist on Friday night practice. It often means the prospect of 5 or 6 days away from home just to do one 15 minute race!

*Do you think the decisions to cancel the MGP and the rearranged Southern 100 as well as the TT were correct?

Yes. Much as I love the sport, I love my country more, and I wouldn't like to see the Foot and Mouth run riot in it. I think the Southern 100 shouldn't have been run in September either. There are many road racers--as opposed to short circuit--whose season has been wiped out and they have done nothing or very little in the way of racing. It wouldn't have been safe to run the Southern because a lot of the riders wouldn't have been dialed in. The opportunity for a "final fling", at the Southern, before the season's end, might have been a bad idea. I fully applaud the Club's efforts and optimism in staging this meeting, but there have been too many bad accidents in the past couple of years; one more would have been one too many, and if that had been the case, there are lots around who would have been quick to point the finger at the Club for going ahead at all.

* What is your opinion on the rearranged racing programme for next year's TT, particularly with respect to the dropping of the Singles and the position the 250s will now hold in the programme?

I have never been a big fan of road bikes being raced in the Production TTs. Give me proper racing machines anytime! Sadly, though, the 250 grids are dwindling. Who can afford to run one? I suppose it was inevitable the 250 class would be the subject of change, but you cant run a race for a handful of bikes. The Junior MGP is a mix of 250/600 machinery which doesn't really work; the 250 lads know it is only really a run out which helps to dial them in for the Friday's Lightweight Race. Also, it raises the obvious question for a 250 rider who also races a 600 - which class does he enter? You can only ride one bike at a time. The new look TT will be similar to the Junior Manx, ie great if you're a 600 rider, tough if you're a 250 competitor!!

* What changes would you make to improve the running / format of the TT Races so that the event remains at [or returns to] the forefront of motorcycle sport in Britain?

I sincerely hope the TT continues to succeed as the unique spectacle it is, but I'm unsure as to what the future may hold for it. It is essential for the Manx Government to want the TT to continue successfully. As time goes on, the Government may not be so enthusiastic, being too obsessed with the finance sector and not interested in what the TT could offer. Every year the complaints about the road closures become more vociferous -- very often from people who have moved to the Island, bought a house, then decide they are not happy when the roads are closed for practicing and racing.
Also, as mass development carries on around the circuit, more and more vantage points are lost. Every year seems to bring more prohibited areas. The new estate at Heywood Park at Signpost Corner was done with forethought and spectators can still sit on the hedge, whilst a public footpath keeps the houses and gardens separate from the main road (the circuit). Not so on the other side of the road, where the gardens encroach right to the roadside, and "PRIVATE" signs are in abundance. The whole area from Cronk ny Mona to the Nook used to be available to many hundreds of spectators, now its virtually all gone. Unacceptable!!
I feel that the costs of getting to and from the Island are unrealistic. People just won't pay hundreds of pounds to travel here anymore, especially if it involves the ordeal of an overnight sailing! Then there's the problem of where to stay. Every year during December, January and February, I get phone calls from people asking me to organize TT accommodation. It's virtually impossible these days to help them. It's all very well putting camp sites and tented villages all over the place, but not everybody wants this type of accommodation.
I think that efforts must continue to attract exciting new blood to the TT with realistic financial inducement, if necessary. We must remember what top riders may have to forgo in order to compete at the TT; two weeks is a long time. Steve Plater, for instance, who is one of the top riders in the country and had raced at the NW200, came to the Island a couple of years ago to learn the circuit, but never raced claiming the money offered was unrealistic. What a shame! Also, there was talk recently about a proposed Australian team to take on the New Zealand riders at the TT. An exciting prospect! Nothing came of it though. Ideas like this should be investigated and acted upon as they could inject much needed excitement into the event.
A few years ago, a Belgian rider Marc Fissette, made his debut at the Ulster Grand Prix, actually beat Joey Dunlop and broke the existing 250 lap record. I think he won a 250 race, although I'm not 100% sure. Either way, Dundrod is a demanding place to go as a Newcomer and win first time with competition like Joey on his home patch to deal with. What great things could Fissette have accomplished on the Isle of Man??

*What is your occupation?

I'm a Taxi Driver for Telecabs in Douglas. I'm up early every morning being out on the road by 5.30am. I don't work nights though. I enjoy the job immensely and have no plans to do anything else. I think the only downside to the job is that it is totally non-physical. I am sitting down all day, and because of the long hours I work, getting to the gym is not as easy as it used to be, although I make a big effort leading up to the start of a season.

* You are an experienced competitor on the road racing scene - what do you consider to be the highlight of your career? Why?

Winning the Manx for the first time in 1999 was a truly magical experience for me. After many years of 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th places I began to think I would never pull it off! I wanted to win for Dicky Watson, my sponsor and a former MGP competitor himself. We did 97mph in practice and, despite the bike seizing, I knew there was a chance of the result provided the bike kept going. I'd had to dice on the roads with Bill Swallow for almost two laps, before going in for fuel. On the last lap I noticed the signal boards change dramatically in my favour, and a friend gave me a figure"1" on the exit of Rhencullen. A wonderful feeling! I was in floods of tears at the end of the race! Last year was a marvellous experience too. It was much harder work, very mentally tiring as we were battling for the lead with less than a second between three of us. I think '99 altered my perception of my own abilities, and I finally convinced myself that I had as much of a chance of winning the race as anyone else on the grid.
The '96 Lightweight was memorable, too. I rode a 250 TZ Yamaha, which I rented from Padgetts at vast expense, taking out a three year loan to pay for it! I started no.7 and had the misfortune to have a rider crash just ahead of me on the first lap at Ginger Hall causing me to lose considerable time as a result of the yellow flags, etc. As the race went on I got my head down; by Ramsey Hairpin on the last lap I was lying in 2nd place--10 secs behind the leader, who had been ahead of the first lap incident and so had not been held up by it. I finished 2nd but pulled the gap back to 4.8 secs by the end. That's the one I should have won, but it didn't quite happen. I have the race commentary on tape and its very exciting, particularly on that last lap. I know I'll never forget the experience!

* When / why did you start road racing? What do you consider to be your main achievements?

For as long as I can remember, I was brought up with the TT and MGP. My Mum took me to watch as soon as I could walk and we'd go across the fields to Bedstead Corner--now all sadly disappeared under the Governors Hill estate or we'd watch the start and finish from the old Children's Home field on Glencrutchery Road. I'd take down all the numbers and retirements in the programme---- in fact I still do this if Im "only watching". I didn't even know what a "short circuit" was until I first went to watch at Jurby Airfield in 1975! When I was 16, it was inevitable that I would have a motorbike. I bought a 1972 Honda CB 125 for £190, which I'd saved from my wages as an apprentice baker. The following year I bought a brand new Honda CB 400 N, but it wasn't too long before it got smashed up. We used to go round the TT Course on Sunday afternoons, timing ourselves, and were often involved in accidents on the open roads. Then I got arrested for doing over 100 mph on Douglas Prom ( a 30 mph zone!!) and lost my licence for four months. The final straw was in 1983, when I crashed the 400 into a flock of sheep at 5.30 one morning on my way to work in Peel, writing it off good and proper! I broke my right toes and got charged for careless driving! Another endorsement on my licence! It took almost a year to get everything sorted out with the insurance, and then, finally I bought my first racing bike the following February, a Yamaha TZ 250E but in a gold "A" chassis with a massive back drum brake (wish I'd hung on to that !!). It cost me £495 and following a practice day, I lined up for my first race at Jurby Airfield on the old original "hangar" circuit on 15th April, 1984.
In my first year I managed to finish third in the Club 250cc Championship, although there weren't many in it! I switched to a 350cc YPVS Yamaha for 1986, winning my first race at Jurby in Sept. 1987. For 1988 I purchased a brand new 250 TZR Yamaha and did the Manx, finishing 7th in the Newcomers and 25th in the Lightweight (both won by Phillip McCallen). I was a triple Club Champion with Andreas Racing Association in 1989 on this bike, and got my first MGP replica for 15th in the Lightweight. In 1990 I began my considerable acquaintance with Classic 250 Suzuki machinery riding for Bob Dowty, finishing 4th in the Manx.
Between 1991 and 1997 I scored many top six placings in the Manx and also wins and placings in Irish Road Races. I was lying 2nd in the '97 Lightweight Manx and mounting a challenge for the lead on lap 3 when I accidentally hit the kill-button of the 250cc Honda on Cronk y Voddy. I recovered to finish 5th with a fastest lap at 111.16mph. I moved on to the TT in 1998, sponsored on a brand new Manton Group 250 Yamaha by Steve Brown. I came 17th in the soaking 2-lap Lightweight Race, despite taking an unnecessary fuel stop at the end of lap one. I crashed out of TT '99 at Union Mills during practice. In 2000 I won the Skerries 100 and the MGP both after trying for many years. Since my first race in 1984 I have raced continuously, except for 1993 when I missed everything; I was off work for 9 months with injuries sustained in a crash at Jurby Airfield--told you these short circuits were dangerous !!

* How did you develop your interest in quiz setting?

The racing social scene during the winters on the IOM used to consist mainly of film shows and slide shows (before videos were invented!!) and quiz nights. During the mid 1980s my mother, Barbara decided she would like to have a go at staging a quiz night to raise some money for the Manx GP Helicopter Fund - I agreed to help out. It was a success and we learnt a lot, and so, with this experience, and the knowledge gained over the years of watching and taking part in TT and MGP races I started putting together quizzes for like-minded enthusiasts to enjoy. We had our last big quiz last January to kick-start The Joey Dunlop Injured Riders Fund. It was a general knowledge quiz but, of course, I included two TT/MGP rounds in it. At the end of the evening lots of people said they had enjoyed the quiz but they wished there had been more TT rounds!! It was during this function that Paul Phillips asked me if I would be prepared to put together the questions for a TT Quiz League on the TT website. I didn't have a computer or any computer experience then, but I readily agreed to do it. When I saw the entry list for the Quiz League I was greatly encouraged---- and as the league develops and we now have only six left with full points, I find it quite addictive, although I'm determined to catch everyone out in the final couple of rounds!!

* I thank Barry for the time he was prepared to put into answering my questions and for his frank, interesting and detailed comments. I am sure you will all join me in wishing Barry and all fellow competitors who have "missed out" this year, the best of luck for season 2002.