So for those getting involved in road racing, and particularly road racing on the mountain course for the first time, how valuable, in your opinion, is the Manx Grand Prix still in the grand scheme of road racing, not just here, but around the world?

Well, I think it is the ultimate road race.

There's no doubt about that.

Well, you could say it's the ultimate behind the TT, but it's held on the same course, and it's held to very, very similar regulations.

So I think it's very relevant.

I think it makes road racing more relevant.

Without the TT, I think road racing may tend to... go away so I think the TT is the linchpin that holds road racing together the TT and Manx Grand Prix

Just off what you're saying there, if, as you say, the dynamic has changed over the years and there is these higher costs involved and there is more that has to be invested, what needs to happen, do you think, in the long term as well for something like the Manx Grand Prix to see it continue to thrive and remain financially sustainable?

But for you as organisers, crucially as well, the Manx Motorcycle Club for the Manx Grand Prix, how challenging is it to organise and put together an event like the Manx Grand Prix in today's financial climate? It's

extremely challenging.

But we've been lucky, particularly this year, due to our newest committee members, Lee and Carol Bartram.

We now have a series of sponsors.

Ocles are now our... headline sponsor for the event and the senior race and we got road racing news for the sport by Glover Law for the super sport race and Carol Nash for the junior so we're it's eased it a little bit but we're finding that a lot of people don't want to do anything for nothing anymore you know at one time everything ran on not a nod and a wink but everybody knew what they wanted to do and they get involved in the Manx Grand Prix and that was their award but now a lot of people tend to want to be paid for things so it's But we do have, you know, quite a few local firms such as Forage and Vintners, et cetera, and people like that who provide things, you know, at a very, well, free of charge or low cost.

But the event is quite an expensive event to put on now.

But in terms of the numbers that have been coming in last year and maybe what you're hoping for this year, what have those levels been like?

It's a little bit disappointing.

And so many nations represented this time, John.

Yeah, well, there's 15 nations altogether, including the home nations, which is very good and a big interest from America.

That's growing really, really, really well.

And the European interest, a lot of people coming from the International Road Race Championships.

In fact, we've got Laurent Hoffman, who's a two-time winner of the International Road Race Championships, and he's a newcomer this year, and he should go very well.

He has had a go at it.

He crashed during practice, so he never actually started the TT.

And how then does the process for application actually work?

[laughs]

But, like, she is the funnest actress in a low budget movie, I think I've ever seen.

Denise and Tom were both incredible, and I, I discovered them when I went to a, um, a kids' production of South Pacific in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

And those two kids stood out to me so much that I approached them afterwards and said, actually their parents, and said, "Would they be interested in doing a movie?" A- and, um- Little did they know.

[laughs] Little, little did, little, little did any of us know.

And, um, a- and, uh, I basically wrote the parts around them after meeting them.

Uh, the, the, the idea for the movie was gonna go off in an entirely different, dark direction.

Mm-hmm.