Riders who have formerly raced at the Isle of Man TT will be allowed to take part in the Manx Grand Prix from this year after organisers relaxed the rules.
Formerly, riders who have raced the TT and the Manx were not eligible to take part but they will now be allowed to run in the 250cc Lightweight event.
Previous race winners from the Newcomers, Classic, Lightweight and Ultra Lightweight classes will now be eligible, although Junior and Senior winners remain ineligible.
Former TT riders who have not qualified to start a TT solo race in the preceding two years, or who have not won a silver replica in any TT solo race in the previous four years, can now also participate in the Ultra Lightweight, Junior and Senior Races.
“We’ve relaxed the eligibility criteria to expand the experience of the field and allow TT racers to take part," said Manx Motor Club chairman Bill Bennett.
"We think that race fans will be really excited at the line-ups and can look forward to a large field and really competitive racing on the Mountain Circuit.”
The 2009 races will include a Post Classic Race for the first time which will cater for twosStroke 126-500cc and four-stroke troke 501-1000cc machines.
“We feel that there will be real interest in the Post Classic class as it is a class that is becoming more and more popular on the short circuits and provides another opportunity for real racing machines to be ridden in anger on the TT Mountain Circuit,” added Bennett.
