Patrons:	Hon.Treasurer	Hon. Secretary
THE EARL OF MARCH	JOHN KIDSON	FRANCES THORP
MICHAEL SUTTON	Thrupp Farmhouse	Mountain View
MURRAY WALKER O.B.E.	Thrupp Lane	Glen Maye
KEL PRINCE	Stroud GL5 2DF	Isle of Man IM5 3BJ
President;	Tel/Fax 01453 762255	Tel/Fax 01624 843695
COLIN SEELEY 2007-2008		E.mail francesthorp@manx.net

Hello Members and Friends

I am hoping to make this Bulletin as interesting as I can so much does happen within the year in the TT Riders Association.  I receive many requests from members asking for pals addresses but I do hope you understand why I cannot give out that information but I am more than happy to pass your mail on for you. Many members have re-kindled friendships this way and it is always a nice feeling to think that the Association has helped them to do just that. There are many past riders who are unable to get to meetings and gatherings for one reason or another, they must never be forgotten.

TTRA HEADQUARTERS 38TH MILESTONE

For those of you who have not been over in the past 12 months, our new position is opposite the rear of the Grandstand and the Tower.
My opening in practice week proved to be very popular and this year there were many members who decided to come for the practice week and beamed into the 38th with joy. As I always say if the door is open the kettle is on. I have noticed that there are quite a few coming to the Island to celebrate 40 and 50 years since there last visit and of course there have been lots of changes on this beautiful Island. Talking to members I am surprised that a lot of you don’t really know what the TTRA does and its purpose. At this point I would like to just say that if you have any ex rider friends who have not yet joined will you give them a nudge. To be eligible it is only riders who have STARTED in a TT RACE on the TT Mountain Course that can join, No not a practice that does not count. So you can see why you are all very “special people” and it is for you that the Association is run.

Again if you cannot attend the Annual General Meeting you will not be aware of the amount of injured riders that we support and also continue to support some members into senior years through accidents or continued injuries incurred through a racing accident.  We do of course rely upon being notified and if you are aware of any members who you know are experiencing difficulties, please do ring me. Our enquiries are discreet and all information is confidential.

NEW PRESIDENT

You will be welcoming Neil Tuxworth as our new President for 2008-2009. I am sure most of you will be familiar with Neil’s long career in racing with a lot of success at the TT and on circuits which unfortunately ended following a bad crash at Aberdare in 1986, followed by his management of the Honda racing team for the last 18 years or so and still counting. I am sure he will do a great job during the coming year.

THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The 2008 AGM took place on the traditional Tuesday evening of Race week followed by an excellent sit down Buffet. As I mentioned in my last Bulletin, our very good member Malcolm Wheeler decided to retire last November 2007 and our sincere thanks was given for all his help and assistance in many ways and also to his wife Julie. John Hammond was co-opted to take his place until the AGM, a warm welcome was given to him and we hope that he will enjoy being part of the team. The meeting was very well attended with 66 present made up of members and guests, again quite a few from abroad. There were some members from the “Friends of the TTRA” attending which made for a very enjoyable evening.
Unfortunately our President Colin Seeley could not attend and sent his apologies and the Secretary chaired the Meeting. It was my pleasure to be able to announce the new  President elect Neil Tuxworth who gave a short acceptance speech. Neil will be adorned with his Chain of Office in November at the Annual Luncheon.      

• See lunch ticket application form HERE.
(PDF File format - save and print out)

PLEASE ORDER TICKETS AS EARLY AS YOU CAN TO SPREAD THE LOAD.

THE ANNUAL LUNCHEON

Auction items.
Information to John Kidson  01453 762255  or John Hammond  01823 674431.
Also, can anyone bringing items on the day  PLEASE let us know so that we can organise the amount of table space we will require for the display etc.,

As indicated in the past to those of you who attend the Luncheon, one of the main reasons is that it is the only Fund raising event that the Association holds and it is very important that we do give members the chance to be generous for the purpose that we exist.   It does always create a slight problem with just a few members who have to continue to be noisy.  This year the Committee have decided that for those of you who are not interested in the Auction there will be a comfort break and the bar area will be open and we wish you to sit in that area until such time as the auction has been completed. Hopefully this will allow those interested to be able to hear the Auctioneer and assist him in generating a maximum contribution to our funds.

Charlie Williams is going to Macau around the luncheon dates and he is not certain that he will be back in time to be Master of Ceremonies so Colin Seeley our current President has kindly stepped in to do the job.

THE TREASURER’S COMMENTS.

During the first 6 months of this Financial  year we have received a further donation from our Patron Mr Michael Sutton in respect of the ever increasing postal costs for the Bulletin. Frances is going to look into the procedure for E-mailing Bulletins in the future where we can, to help in keeping these costs under control. Will members with E-mail addresses please let Frances have them so that the process can be organised. She will of course continue to mail Bulletins where no email is available.
The Rob Vine Fund kindly donated £1000 towards the Energy Drink costs for this years TT as did the TT Supporters Club with a donation of £500. Mortons Media kindly donated the Press Trial profit of £816.  Phil Morris and Road Racing Legends gave us £500 from their fund raising event in February and we also had a substantial donation from the brother of deceased relative Martin Heyes estate of £1500.  There were many donations too numerous to detail but for which the Association is forever grateful.  THANK YOU TO EVERYONE.

We have made various Grants this year but because of a relative accident free TT the demands have been less so far. Can we remind you to talk to the Secretary, Treasurer or any Committee member if you are aware of any of our fraternity who may need help in these rather bleak economic times.

The last financial year was another record for the Association in terms of funds raised and substantial Grants were made to deserving Parties by the Association.

WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS

Steve Woods, Harrow. Mal Kirwan, Wallasey. Colin Bairnson, Cheshire. James McBride,Kettering.. Dennis Holmes, Newcastle-under-Lyne. John.W.Jones, Dunstable. Keith Walters, South Wales. Douglas Cash. Bucks. Neil Mason, Co Durham. Paul Shoesmith, Cheshire.

UNDER THE CHEQUERED FLAG

Derek Mortimer aged 70 yrs. His racing career began 1960’s on Manx Nortons.His first TT was 1973 -1980 he then took the role of mechanic to his son Richard (also a TTRA member)
Bill Barker competed in the TT mid 60’s until the 70’s on 125cc and Production bikes.
He ran a successful Motorcycle dealership at Hebden Bridge.
Geoffrey Deakin   S/cars has passed away in South Africa
John Stuart Bottomley raced 1962 and in the IOM.Lap of Honour 1993.
Gordon Hadfield  FRCS.  A leading Orthopaedic Surgeon who advised and repaired many competition riders from all branches of the sport. Chief Medical Officer of the ACU and FIM for many years.  
Martin Finnegan.29 years, tragically lost his life in the Irish North West 200 May 2008
Came 3rd in the TT 2005 Superbike. 
Robert Dunlop. 47 years, tragically lost his life in the Irish North West 200 May 2008 he was a 5 times TT winner.  
The two above accidents were not connected with each other.
John Biggs Great competitor on his outfit  and active on the parades in recent years.
Dennis Jones A great engineer who made his own super specials and connected with Bill Lomas on the J.E.L.
Duilio Agostini. A works Guzzi rider from the fifties who owned a Guzzi shop in Mandello now run by his daughter.
Frank Sheene. 96 yrs recently died peacefully.
Steve Norbury. Died tragically racing S/cars Sept 2008 at Hockenheim.
John Goodall 67 yrs A great rider of Classic Bikes on the Mountain circuit. Very sadly died in an accident at this year Manx Grand Prix. 2008
David Richards 58 yrs. Sidecar Passenger in the 60/70’s Sadly passed away.

Mr Sandro Campigli –Italy. A member of The Friends of the TTRA passed away suddenly 2008

CONDOLENCES ALSO SENT TO;

Tony Jefferies on the sudden passing of his wife Pauline TT Practice week 2008
By coincidence it was 5 years and 1 day to son Davids fatal accident in the IOM.

Ernie Lyons - Past President. On the loss of his dear wife Bessie. A great lady in every respect.
Lilian Pike.  a very tragic loss of husband Alan one of our Friends of the TT Riders Association (FOTTRA) well known in the motorcycle fraternity. Alan will be remembered as “one of lifes characters”.

To  the Family of Mr W. Roy Richards. Our host at the National Motorcycle Museum who passed away in March.  He built up a magnificient collection of Machines and was totally dedicated to British Motorcycles. He always made sure that the TTRA was well looked after at our Annual Lunch and will be sadly missed by many enthusiasts.

THANK YOU FOR DONATIONS

This paragraph is to say our thanks for the generosity and kind thoughts of the following people and for the many small donations just too numerous to mention.
Malcolm Wheeler on behalf of Mortons Media from their “Press Trial Day”
John McGuiness for his generosity via Duke Marketing Ltd.
Jim and Ivy Bate collection in lieu of presents for each of their special birthdays and also their Ruby Wedding  Anniversary. Wishing you both many more happy years.
Chris Heyes. Donation in memory of his brother Martin Heyes  raised at a special evening function in the Isle of Man.
Shona Dugdale – Manx Electricity Authority. From a casual dress down day at  the MEA throughout TT Practice and Race week.

SPORT IN SCIENCE - ENERGY DRINKS

Again this year the Riders were very grateful to the TTRA for the generous selection of the Energy Supplement Drinks that were provided for each and every rider in the 2008 TT Races. These were collected by each  rider from the 38th Milestone.
Dr David Stevens on behalf of – Manx  Motorsport  Medical  Services and Roy Hanks on behalf of -  TT Supporters Club were both very generous with donations towards this project.

We had some coverage on the BBC2 TV.  When they were interviewing on the startline showing the Riders, it was very pleasing to see the TTRA Logo on the Drinks Bottle. The results from Nobles Hospital seem to be that these drinks are proving very worthwhile with regards to lowering accident rates.

 

FRIENDS OF THE TT RIDERS ASSOCIATION.

Tony East has recently decided to relinquish the Chairmanship of FOTTRA after six very successful fundraising years. He feels that it is time for a “new broom” to step in and we have accepted his retirement with regret, During the last six years Tony and Pat have raised near to £20,000 for the Association through their hard work and dedication to the cause which is an absolutely magnificient achievement. The good news is that Tony has said that they intend to continue to raise funds for us is the same way as before with their wonderful collection of machines being opened during TT and Manx week for the fans to visit and also partake of the refreshments provided. A wonderful effort and long may it continue.
Thank you, Tony and Pat.

Tony is standing down from the Chairmanship at the end of the FOTTRA Annual General Meeting which will take place on Wednesday November 12th 2008 at 7-30pm at the Old Vicarage, Main Road. Kirk Michael.
Mr David Mylchreest, who we are sure needs no introduction, has kindly consented to take over the Chairmanship and he will be given a very warm welcome at the AGM. In the meantime the other officers remain unchanged.
We are still looking for sponsors for “FULL CHAT” the journal of FOTTRA . Not a large sum is involved so please step forward and speak to Tony on 01624 878242 or John Kidson on 01453 762255 regarding this as a small tribute to Tony and Pat for all their good work.

Do remember to encourage non-riding TT enthusiasts to join the “Friends”. Full particulars from the Secretary David Plant 01624 882468 or myself 01624 843695

JOE WOOD

Our Committee member, Irish representative and top membership recruiter for both the TTRA and the Friends of the TTRA retired from the Committee at the AGM in June 2008 which he was unable to attend. Unfortunately, Joe has not been in the best of health for the past few years and decided it was the right time for him to retire. However, he has agreed to continue to keep his eye on Irish matters for us.
Joe was extremely happy to be the first recipient of the Win and Allan Robinson Trophy and hopes to be with us at the Lunch to see it awarded for a further year. Thank you Joe we all send you our best wishes and to Marie for her support.

TTRA LUNCH

Below is the link for the lunch ticket ordering form (in PDF format) and I would ask again will you order as many of your tickets required on your table in one go and attach cheques. LUNCH TICKETS CLOSING DATE STRICTLY NOVEMBER 7TH 2008

(now closed)

Although a little way off Frances & Tom would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Very Happy Christmas and a Healthy New Year 2009.

FRANCES
……………………
Frances Thorp Hon Secretary