This year’s Ramsey Sprintfest was ‘really successful’ and can sit in the ‘cultural mindset’ of the TT.
Commissioner Juan McGuinness also says he appreciates there were concerns over parking but the ‘small’ loss of parking is outweighed by the benefits of the event.
The local authority says it ‘mitigated’ the issue with specific motorbike parking.

Mr McGuinness said: ‘This is the third year we’ve been running it and the previous two times we’ve run on either side of Covid, the weather has been you know, it’s been acceptable to run, but it’s not been brilliant.

‘So with this fantastic weather we’ve had this TT, it’s really allowed Sprintfest to shine.

‘This is something that can sit in the cultural mindset of the calendar of TT, that the middle weekend you come to Ramsey.’

He continued: ‘There’s great music on every night.

‘You can come to watch the bikes during the day, stay for the atmosphere in the evening, come to Ramsey for your for your stay over TT.

‘And there’s no need to start going into Douglas every night, because with a good bit of history behind it, Sprintfest can really grow to become an anchor point for the town.’

The commissioner said the he ‘appreciated’ the concerns that many have raised, particularly with regards to parking.

He explained: ‘It is just four days, it is just sort of 40 or so spaces and we did mitigate that with bike parking during the day.

‘Ramsey was busy, but I drove into Ramsey every single day and I got to park, maybe not ideally where I wanted, but there’s a fair amount of parking in Ramsey.

‘I think the overall the small inconvenience of a little bit of loss of parking is outweighed by the overall benefit to the town of Sprintfest.’

Mr McGuinness added that he also appreciated the concerns of the businesses directly affected [by the reduction of parking spaces], saying that ‘I think I’d like to believe that they can see the greater good to the town and have a little bit of awkwardness for them for a couple of days over the entire fortnight.

‘I think it’s a fair sacrifice.’