’TT is better than Christmas.’

That was the opinion of one of the fans having a great time so far and the TT has just started.

With the sun out and the beer flowing we went to the Grandstand to talk to the fans and ask them what the best things about this fortnight are and how they were finding TT so far.

This is what they had to say.

Andy Phillips and Lauren Beale, from Kent.

Andy: ’It’s been amazing. We were up at Creg-ny-Baa on Wednesday night. We watched about two laps, they were going well and then the fog just came in. It was terrible, we just had to go to the pub.

’The atmosphere is by far the best thing, we’re definitely coming again next year.

’This is our first year but I’ve got loads of friends who’ve been here lots of times

’They were telling us we had to come so we thought we’ve got to do it this year and we’ve loved it.

’It has been slightly expensive but to be fair, that and even the rain hasn’t even dampened our mood. It’s just been amazing, worth every penny

’We’ve got loads of riders’ signatures. James Hillier was brilliant, Josh Brookes was another one.’

Jane Brookes, with the Davy Morgan Race Team, and who moved from East Baldwin to Worcester after meeting her future husband at TT 2003

’I used to live here but I left 14 years ago and I’ve come back every year since for the TT and Manx Grand Prix

’I just love the atmosphere. The way the island sort of wakes up, everybody’s into the same thing. Staying in the paddock is like being in a little village.

’You meet the same people every year and re-connect with them.

’I’ll be back next year, absolutely. As long as the sun shines everyone’s going to have a nice time.

’It is a little bit expensive, we were delayed 10 hours at Heysham and that was a bit inconvenient, it’s taken us 24 hours to get to the Isle of Man but once you get here you forget all those bits.’

Father and son Ross and Sean Tristram, from Kidderminster

Sean: ’I’ve been coming here eight years and my dad’s been coming 19 years. The atmosphere’s fantastic, it’s a carnival atmosphere. There’s nothing else like it. It’s the most spectacular racing in the world.

’We’ll definitely be coming next year. We’ve already booked it. I’ve got everything sorted.

’We’ve got friends over here, people are nice. A friend of ours is racing. The speeds they attain around here are unbelievable.’

Ross: ’My partner paid for me to come over here when I was 50 and she said it was the worst thing she’s ever done because I’ve been coming the last 19 years.

’I’d never miss it now. I think it’s wonderful, the island itself too.

’There are plenty of things to do, you can’t beat it.

’The foot and mouth year is the only one I’ve missed. I don’t ride a bike myself now. I have got a little scooter.

’The riders are out of this world, I’ve never seen anything like them.

’You don’t get a second chance around here, one mistake and it’s all over.

’Look at Joey Dunlop, he’d done everything, then went over to Estonia on a 125 and killed himself.’

Vanessa Naughton, from mid Wales, and Kevin Rice, from north Wales

Kevin: ’I’ve been coming for years and years, and we just love the crack. The alcohol.

’We have a good time here, it’s a lovely island, beautiful. You can go anywhere on the island, watch the races, have a few beers. It’s a very welcoming island. We’ll be back next year, it’s very nice.

’It is expensive, beer’s not cheap but when you go somewhere like this for that one week you expect prices to go up anyway.

’We go to Cardiff for the rugby and for that one week, hotels are double the price, beer is double the price.

Vanessa: ’Everyone’s very welcoming, it’s a lovely place. Our accommodation is cheap, £25 a night per person.’

Dewi John, from Pwllheli, north Wales

’We follow the world rally championship, we follow Formula One, and everything’s inaccessible, you can’t see what’s going on.

’You can’t go to the pits, you can’t do anything. But here you can go to anyone and speak, go anywhere, everybody’s approachable, that’s the main thing about it, it’s accessible. I’ve been coming for the last seven years and it’s better than Christmas. I’ll be back next year definitely.’

Gareth Burningham, Steve Tinsley and Paul Griffiths, all from the Wirral

Steve: ’Everything is great. The whole atmosphere is the best thing.’

Gareth: ’My first year was 1993, then I had a bit of a break until 2003 and then every year since, so quite a few years.

’I’ll be back next year, absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt. The cost is what it is, if you don’t pay it you don’t come. It’s rubbish watching on TV, it’s only once a year isn’t it?

’It’s what you work for. I can’t do both the Grand Prix and the TT, I have to do one or the other, the wife wouldn’t let me do both and until circumstances are otherwise it’s going to be the TT.’