Ulster GP: less than perfect

I often wonder why I bother going to road racing events, but once you’re there it soon becomes apparent we go. I travelled to this year’s Ulster Grand Prix along with many others, and was with greeted rain, sodden fields, and limited parking facilities. Did this put me off? Not a chance. You cannot account for the weather, you have to take what you have and make the most of it. It is in this respect that the organisers of the event failed miserably in my opinion. 

The start of the event was delayed in the hope that the conditions would improve, which they did. Racing finally was ready to start, the bikes did their warm-up lap, formed on the grid, and did they start? Did they hell. Oh no, first there was the on-grid interviews to be carried out. After a good 5-10mins the race got under way.

What’s the point of having a warm-up lap, and letting the riders sit on the grid, their tyres cooling by the second, seems stupid to me, if not downright dangerous. Surely when the organisers spend so much time and money on safety, why can’t they see the danger in keeping bikes sitting on the grid.

For all the races, it was the same thing: warm-up lap, interviews, it was bloody madness. It should be warm-up lap, form on grid, go. I think the organisers wasted valuable time, time which would have allowed an other race to have taken place, if not both of the last two races. 

The organisers of the UGP should attend the Cookstown 100 event and see how a race meeting should be run. I was over at this year’s event and they ran 13 races, and finished early, none of this messing about that they seem to think they need to do at Dundrod.

Will I be back to the UGP? I very much doubt it. The time and costs involved makes it more attractive to attend events closer to home, with better facilities. I very much hope that the UGP survives, it is without doubt the finest road circuit in the world, but I honestly can’t see how it will if it continues to be run this way.