IOMTT announces hopes to go global

If Isle of Man TT organizers have their way, the series might expand past its current geographical borders.

As we’ve reported before, the people behind the IOMTT  (specifically, the Isle of Man’s government) would love to expand their series beyond the Isle of Man’s borders. In the past, though, it’s just been talk. Now, after paying some consultants to study its feasibility, organizers have their minds made up: They want to hit the road with the series.

The TT’s organizers are now looking for a promoter who can take the series over and run events in other locations around the globe. The idea is, fans will be able to watch TT stars race for not just a few days in summer, but year-round. Just think: The TT series could bring Guy Martin to an event at Qatar, or John McGuinness to Laguna Seca, or Michael Dunlop to Jerez – let your imagination run wild!

And for now, that’s all it is – imagination. But if they actually find someone to bring the series to other venues, then a whole new host of questions arise, such as: Are the racers interested in doing this? How will this affect the IOMTT? Can this series really compete with World Superbike and MotoGP as an international affair? In an era where it’s harder and harder to fund motorsports, who’s going to pay for all this? Do fans even care?

Sure, the TT is popular, but fans already have the chance to watch many of those racers at other events, such as endurance races or the Macau GP, and none of those events have the cachet of the IOMTT.

However – if the IOMTT brings a literal road race to other locales, the results will be interesting, even if the fans don’t care. Another track series would be nowhere near as noteworthy as a series of races on public roads. The chances of this happening in our modern lawsuit-happy world are almost nil, but race fans can dream, right?