At this point the TT consisted of two classes, the 350cc Junior TT and the “Blue Riband Event”, the 500cc Senior TT. While the machinery has changed in the last century, the Senior TT remains as the event’s biggest race and the most coveted trophy for competitors.
The motorcycle TT Course is used principally for the Isle of Man TT Races and also the separate event of the Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling for the Manx Grand Prix and Classic TT Races held in September of each year. The start-line for the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course is located on Glencrutchery Road in the town of Douglas, Isle of Man.
After leaping over St Ninian’s Crossroads, riders drop down the incredibly steep hill at 150mph, hit the dip at the bottom and then fly over Ago’s Leap on the other side – welcome to the TT! Once Quarter Bridge, Braddan Bridge and Union Mills have been taken, riders barely drop below 140mph with speeds through Crosby village approaching 190mph.
The TT Access Road runs parallel to a section of the A1 Peel Road, which is part of the Snaefell Mountain Course, and operates during practice and race periods to enable vehicles to pass from inside of the race course to the outside.
37.73 miThe official course distance for the Snaefell Mountain Course was amended in 1938 to 37.73 mi (60.72 km) which is the current course length.
37.73 mileEvery May and June the Isle of Man, a small country nestled between England and Ireland, turns into motorcycle nirvana as the world's greatest road racers gather to test themselves against the incredible 'Mountain Course' – a 37.73 mile beast of a course carved out of the Island's public closed roads.
How many laps are in the Isle of Man TT? The Senior TT is six laps. The Superstock, Supersport and Lightweight categories are a four lap race, and the Sidecar riders race three laps.
In an indication of just how crazy the Isle of Man TT really is, New Zealander Bruce Anstey set a new top speed record when he was clocked at 206mph on the mile-long Sulby Straight during practice for the Superbike-class race.
Home to a variety of scenic highlights that both inspire and captivate visitors, the Isle of Man is a truly unique destination. Just 33 miles long by 13 miles wide, you won't need to travel far to unearth the Island's natural beauty.
Current Isle of Man TT Lap RecordsCategoryRiderAverage SpeedOutrightPeter Hickman135.452mph / 217.989km/hTT SuperbikeDean Harrison134.432mph / 216.347km/hSupersportMichael Dunlop129.197mph / 207.922km/hLightweight TTMichael Dunlop122.750mph / 197.546km/h5 more rows
Isle of Man TT: The world's deadliest raceDriving the news: Five competitors died at this year's event, the second-most ever behind 1970 (six). ... The big picture: Overall, 265 competitors have died in races on the island's infamous 37.7-mile Mountain Course since the TT's 1907 debut.More items...•
Giacomo Agostini1) Giacomo Agostini Agostini may well lay the claim to being the coolest motorcycle racer of all time. With a brilliant 10 wins on the TT course Ago, as he is known to generations of fans, also won 15 world titles. The famous Ago's Leap at the bottom of Bray Hill is named after this Italian legend.
a) Riders and Passengers All competitors must be over 18 years of age on the 28th May 2015. To enter this event, all competitors must hold a “TT Mountain Course Licence” issued by the ACU at a cost of £25.00 in addition to any normal licence fees.
231.4mphValtteri Bottas currently holds the record for the highest speed in an F1 race, hitting 372.5km/h (231.4mph) in the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix. While this is certainly fast, F1 cars aren't quite the fastest single-seaters – that accolade goes to IndyCar.
In July 2017, Martin retired from motorcycle racing. Martin started racing in 1998 and in 2004 competed on a road circuit for the first time at the Isle of Man TT. He has a total of 17 podium finishes at TT events over several years.
The Tourist Trophy RacesThe Tourist Trophy Races. The "TT Races," more formally known as the Tourist Trophy Motorcycle Races, are a long-standing institution in the Isle of Man, the first being held in 1907.
It is an everyday public road which is closed to traffic, pedestrians and animals under the Road Races Act for two fortnight periods every year - two weeks during May/June for the TT and two weeks during August/September for the Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix - to allow motorcycle racing to take place.
For marshalling purposes the course is split into 12 sectors, each with its own Chief Sector Marshal and numerous Deputy Sector Marshals. More than 500 marshals are required across the whole twelve sectors for every single practice or race session.
TT Grandstand startline to Union Mills, includes Bray Hill, Quarterbridge and Braddan Bridge
It is an everyday public road which is closed to traffic, pedestrians and animals under the Road Races Act for two fortnight periods every year - two weeks during May/June for the TT and two weeks during August/September for the Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix - to allow motorcycle racing to take place.
For marshalling purposes the course is split into 12 sectors, each with its own Chief Sector Marshal and numerous Deputy Sector Marshals. More than 500 marshals are required across the whole twelve sectors for every single practice or race session.
There are a total of seven events: The most coveted Senior TT, Super Stock TT, Superbike TT, SuperSport TT, Lightweight TT, Side Car TT and the recently added Zero TT, a race specifically for electric motorcycles.
The island had its own Parliament which meant that it did not have to comply with the U.K. Parliament’s Act. The first ever TT was held in 1907 thanks to the 1904 Isle of Man Parliament Act that permitted road racing.
These days, most purpose built race tracks like those used in MotoGP are under four miles long with somewhere between 15-20 turns on average. Being familiar with a track is essential to going fast so racers spend time memorizing them by watching onboard footage, or walking or riding a bicycle or scooter before the race. While track safety and rider gear have made huge strides in the last half century, GP venues have been required to have hundred foot long run off areas outside of every turn. At the Isle of Man, you get 100 foot banks, concrete walls and fences, if you’re lucky.
The Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy) is frequently called the world’s last great motorsports event, a title that is beyond well deserved . Every June racers compete on closed public two-lane country roads at speeds exceeding 200mph, making it one of, if not the, most dangerous motorcycle race in the world. But how did this often-lethal event, held ...
As you can tell, the Isle of Man TT has a rich history. 2017 marks the 110 th year of racing and there will likely be 110 more because the future of the TT seems to be growing. Attendance continues to grow year after year, with no signs of slowing down. Recently it has been announced that a major Hollywood movie about the TT has begun production and video game developer Big Ben Interactive is currently working on an Isle of Man TT game that is set for release sometime later in 2017. The TT is without a doubt one of the most fascinating, exhilarating and unique races ever held and its future is sure to live on through the next generations of fans and competitors.
Two fairly recent examples being (former) Australian TT racer Cameron Donald who works as a plumber, and current super star Guy Martin who works as a truck mechanic.
In 1911 The TT switched to the substantially longer 37.73 mile course (The Snaefell Course, then 37.40 miles). At this point the TT consisted of two classes, the 350cc Junior TT and the “Blue Riband Event”, the 500cc Senior TT.
Once Quarter Bridge, Braddan Bridge and Union Mills have been taken, riders barely drop below 140mph with speeds through Crosby village approaching 190mph. One of the most daunting corners is the right-hander of Ballagarey more commonly known amongst the racing fraternity as Ballascarey!
The Kirk Michael to Sulby Bridge section is without doubt one of the quickest on the course with speeds well in excess of 180mph through Bishopscourt and along the Sulby Straight. The village of Kirk Michael gives both riders and spectators a terrific sensation of speed with the sound of the bikes echoing off the walls of the houses and the narrow road seeing the riders hit 160mph as they buck and weave their way through the village.
Once through Dukes, the re-modelled Windy Corner and Keppel Gate, the riders start the rapid descent back into Douglas via the three flat out sections that link Kate’s Cottage, Creg-Ny-Baa, Brandish and Hillberry.
After all the bumps and trees of the previous section, the Mountain Course encounters yet another geographical change as riders head towards the vast open spaces of the Mountain itself. For some, this is the easiest section to learn as the views into the corners are clear and un-obstructed but for others it’s the opposite as the layout means that many of the corners appear to look the same.
The event consists of one week of practice sessions followed by one week of racing. It has been a tradition, perhaps started by racing competitors in the early 1920s, for spectators to tour the Snaefell Mountain Course on motorcycles during the Isle of Man TT on " Mad Sunday ", an informal and unofficial sanctioned event held on the Sunday between 'Practice Week' and 'Race Week'.
The 1911 Isle of Man TT was the first time the Junior TT race took place, open to 300 cc single-cylinder and 340 cc twin cylinder motorcycles, contested over five laps of the new 37.5-mile (60.4 km) Snaefell Mountain Course.
From 1975, the previous 500 cc and 750 cc classes for Sidecars were replaced by a 1000 cc engine capacity class. The new FIM Formula 2 class for Sidecars was introduced for the 1990 Isle of Man TT.
The 2015 specifications for entries for the Superstock TT, an event for production based motorcycles racing with treaded road tyres, are based on the FIM Superstock Championship specifications, as follows:
The 2001 Isle of Man TT races were cancelled, and did not take place because of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the UK in the spring and summer of 2001, and the difficulties of disinfecting 40,000 spectators and competitors (and their motorcycles) to ensure the disease was kept off the island.
The oldest motor-cycle racing circuit still in use is the Snaefell Mountain Course over which the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy races are run. Starting at the town of Douglas on the south-east coast, the course takes a wide sweep to the west and north to enter the town of Ramsey on the north-east coast and thence return to the starting point, each lap measuring 37 3⁄4 miles (60.7 km) and taking in over 200 bends while climbing from sea level to an altitude of over 1,300 ft (396 m). This circuit is the epitome of the natural road course, all the roads used being ordinary public highways closed for the racing and practice sessions.
In March 2020, the Isle of Man Government announced the cancellation of the 2020 TT due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Classic TT was subsequently cancelled in May, and in December 2020, it was announced that 2021's TT races would also not go ahead, due to the continued worldwide spread of the virus. TT 2022 is still expected to go ahead as scheduled.
The Isle of Man CC (Cycle Challenge) course is exactly the same as that of the Isle of Man TT, ie a clockwise route from the start / finish at the TT Grandstand on Glencrutchery Road in Douglas.
Refreshment stops at the TT Grandstand and at the TT marshal hut at Quarry Bends 2 (halfway around the course) provide IOMCC cyclists with fruit, snacks, energy bars, isotonic powder and tablets and water. At the TT Grandstand there is also tea, coffee and hot chocolate.
The course record on a bicycle is 1hr 23min 48sec which Peter Kennaugh set during the Nelson Trophy Memorial Mountain Time Trial on the weekend of the Isle of Man CC in September 2015. The Manx Team Sky pro rider broke Chris Boardman’s previous time of 1hr 23min 54sec which had stood unbroken since 1993.
The Isle of Man TT is run in a time-trial format on public roads closed to the public by an Act of Tynwald (the parliament of the Isle of Man). The event consists of one week of practice sessions followed by one week of racing. It has been a tradition, perhaps started by racing competitors in the early 1920s, for spectators to tour the Snaefell Mountain Course on motorcycles during the Isle of Man TT on Mad Sunday, an informal and unofficial sanctioned event held on the Sunday betw…
Motor racing began on the Isle of Man in 1904 with the Gordon Bennett Eliminating Trial, restricted to touring automobiles. As the Motor Car Act 1903 placed a speed restriction of 20 mph (32 km/h) on automobiles in the UK, Julian Orde, Secretary of the Automobile Car Club of Britain and Ireland approached the authorities in the Isle of Man for the permission to race automobiles on the island's public roads. The Highways (Light Locomotive) Act 1904 gave permission in the I…
After the completion of a practice or race period, an official course vehicle displaying the notice Roads Open proceeds around the Mountain Course, passing each point opening the roads including side-access junctions to public use. On the Snaefell mountain road section from Ramsey to Douglas, the official vehicle displays the notice Roads Open One Way.
Originally introduced in 1935, there are eight machines positioned around the course to provide …
The 1982 Road Racing Act (Isle of Man) and the supplementary TT Road Races Orders allow vehicles and pedestrians to cross the Snaefell Mountain Course at certain points between scheduled race periods under the supervision of a police officer. Several permanent pedestrian overbridges have been erected. These points include:
• A2 St Ninian's Crossroads with the A22 Ballaquayle Road and the A22 Ballanard Road