Cuprabob Posted June 3, 2014 Report Share Posted June 3, 2014 Sadly, Karl Harris crashed during the Superstock race at the IOM TT today and lost his life. Karl is the.2nd desth of this year's event, with Bob Price losing his life yesterday during the Supersport race. They both died doing what they loved -RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinspark Posted June 3, 2014 Report Share Posted June 3, 2014 I'm still astounded that the TT continues - every other form of motorsport seems to have been sanitised for safety, yet the TT is still as mental and dangerous as ever. I know someone who broke a Kawasaki ZX10R in half during practice this week, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted June 3, 2014 Report Share Posted June 3, 2014 Really sad when it happens. I feel for the families and all those suffering the pain of the loss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mort Posted June 4, 2014 Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 Good rider. Seen him ride a few times. A tragic loss yet again at the TT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimdiesel Posted June 4, 2014 Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 This one hurts. I have followed Karl since 1999. His 3 supersport titles showed his level of talent. His BSB career was frustrating (partly self induced). But he has worked really hard in recent years to get back to where he deserved to be. By coincidence I met a girl in our village about 7 years ago. She turned out to be Karl's cousin. Her daughter is in my daughters class and I used to get regular updates on what Karl was up to. RIP Bomber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimdiesel Posted June 4, 2014 Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 I'm still astounded that the TT continues - every other form of motorsport seems to have been sanitised for safety, yet the TT is still as mental and dangerous as ever. I know someone who broke a Kawasaki ZX10R in half during practice this week, too. . We had friends stay with us over the weekend. They live in Ballaugh. J is quite senior at a bank on the island and is well connected with the financial workings of the island. I was expressing my fears for the future of road racing and what this would mean for the IOM. The perception has always been that it keeps the island going. This adds to the pressure to keep the races. But it appears that the cost of the event and the actual revenue are hard to get to the bottom of. I suspect the island is not as dependant financially as it may appear. Also very little exists on the island to take advantage of the legacy and history of the TT. There are lots of small private museums. If anything does happen to the races, then this needs to be addressed so that the a Island can remain a focal point for Motorsport fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted June 4, 2014 Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 Sad news, thoughts with his family. The problem with IOM, is that without the TT, there would be no reason for anyone to go there, even if they did build a TT museum it still wouldn't be worth more than a day visit, as frankly, the island has nothing you can't get elsewhere in terms of scenery, very little to do otherwise, and is a complete dump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimdiesel Posted June 4, 2014 Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 The point is Tipex, the legacy of the TT is huge and something needs to be made of it. And I disagree about the Island. I have spent a lot of time there and never during the TT. Scott Redding was very outspoken on twitter last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted June 4, 2014 Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 In my former career I visited the IoM many times - because the company owned the newspaper there. I wouldn't call it a dump at all. The TT has a huge impact on the economy but to say that is the only reason to go there would be missing one critical fact - the island has a major tourist and film industry. The TT adds around £20m to the IoM economy, per annum. The film industry, a sector the government has targeted for decades, brings over £100m a year to the island and has created over 3,000 full time jobs there. Then, they report £400m a year in tax revenues from the film companies based there. Tourists bring over £150m a year on top of that. So if you've got £100m + £400m + £150m compared to the £20m the TT brings....it isn't a big thing at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted June 4, 2014 Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 (edited) I lived there for six months, then visited on a two week on, one weekend off basis for the next six months, then two weeks on, two weeks off for the remaining six months of the build of the leisure centre based just outside Douglas. When I say a dump, I mean Douglas specifically, and most of the small towns, the rest of the island has very little to offer, no scenery you can't find better in the UK. The reason the film industry like it, is because it is quiet outside of the TT, and they allow them to do basically whatever they want, they don't interfere with them or try and strangle them with health and safety regs. Overall, I found the whole island to be a bit of a depressing place really, I certainly wouldn't go there for anything other than the TT personally. Edited June 4, 2014 by Tipex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted June 4, 2014 Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 (edited) The only point I was really making (I don't think it's a spectacular place myself, but nor do I think it is a dump) is that the TT is often perceived as being a major thing to the Island. In the scheme of things, it is negligible. p.s. the reason the film industry like it has nothing to do with it being quiet - it is because they get tax breaks in the film sector from the IoM government. That's why so many have moved there. It was a very astute move from the government way back in the 80's or 90's. Edited June 4, 2014 by NewNiceMrMe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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