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The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May and June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event begins on the UK Spring Bank Holiday at the end of May and runs for thirteen days. It is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world as many competitors have died.
Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, was an English professional motorcycle racer and racing driver. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest racers of all time. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle world championships from 1958 to 1967 and in Formula One between 1963 and 1974. Hailwood was known as "Mike The Bike" because of his natural riding ability on motorcycles with a range of engine capacities.
Geoffrey Ernest Duke, born in St. Helens, Lancashire, was a British multiple motorcycle Grand Prix road racing world champion. He raced several brands of motorcycle: Norton, Gilera, BMW, NSU and Benelli. After retirement from competition, he was a businessman based in the Isle of Man.
Phillip William Read, was an English professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1961 to 1976. Read is notable for being the first competitor to win world championships in the 125 cc, 250 cc and 500 cc classes. Although he was often overshadowed by his contemporary, Mike Hailwood, he won seven FIM Grand Prix road racing world championships.
The Manx Grand Prix motorcycle races are held on the Isle of Man TT Course annually, usually at the end of August and early September. Traditionally the event has been staged over a two week period but this was reduced in 2022 to nine days. 2023 saw the 100th Anniversary of the event.
The Isle of Man TT Mountain Course or TT Course or Jalmaf Mountain Course is a street and public rural road circuit located in the Isle of Man, used for motorcycle racing. 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.
Santiago Herrero Ruiz was a Spanish professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1968 to 1970 as a member of the Ossa factory racing team. As Spain began to emerge from the Franco Era, Herrero became the country's most promising international motorcycle racer until he died from injuries sustained while competing in the 1970 Isle of Man TT race.
Harold Daniell was a British professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and auto racing driver. He competed in the 1940s and 1950s. On retiring from racing he owned a Norton motorcycle dealership in Forest Hill, London.
Georg "Schorsch" Meier was a German motorcycle racer famous for being the first foreign winner of the prestigious Senior TT, the Blue Riband race of the Isle of Man TT Races, in 1939 riding for the factory BMW team and the first motorcycle racer to lap a Grand Prix course at over 100 mph.
The Verandah, Isle of Man is a series of four bends which motorcyclists negotiate at high speed during road racing on the Snaefell Mountain Course on the Isle of Man.
Bruce Anstey is a professional motorcycle road racer. He is a former lap record holder on the world-famous Snaefell Mountain Course with a time of 17 minutes 6.682 seconds, at an average speed of 132.298 mph (212.913 km/h) set during the 2014 Superbike TT Race. Anstey was signed to race for the Padgett's Honda Racing Team having previously ridden for TAS Suzuki Racing, Valmoto Triumph and DTR Yamaha. For thirteen consecutive seasons, from 2002 - 2015, Bruce Anstey managed to secure a top three finish at the world's three most prestigious road races; the North West 200, the Isle of Man TT and the Ulster Grand Prix.
Alex George is a Scottish former professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in the Grand Prix world championships in 1970 and then from 1973 to 1979. George was a street circuit specialist and was a three-time winner at the Isle of Man TT. His best year in world championship competition came in 1975 when he finished in seventh place in the 500 cc Grand Prix world championship.
Phillip McCallen is a Northern Ireland born former motorcycle racer, now turned to dealer and commentator in his retirement from road racing.
The Billown Circuit is a motorcycle road-race course used for the Southern 100, the Pre-TT Classic races and the National Road Races meetings near Castletown on the Isle of Man. Racing is held on public roads closed for racing by an Act of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man.
Ian Hutchinson is an English professional motorcycle road racer specialising in events held on closed public roads, such as the Isle of Man TT, the North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix.
Daniel Richard Kneen was a professional motorcycle racer from Douglas, Isle of Man.
Glyn Philip Mellor was a Yorkshire-based English motorcycle racer. His career included racing on both road and race circuits. Mellor, from Shelley, near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, died after an accident at Doran's Bend during the 1989 TT races on the Isle of Man.
Colin Hardman was a British motorcycle racer who competed in both the solo and sidecar classes.
Carolynn Sells is an English former road racer. The highlight of her racing career was winning the 2009 Ultralightweight Manx Grand Prix, making her the first and as of 2024, the only woman to win a solo race on the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course, an achievement that earned her a Guinness World Record, and made her the Isle of Man Sportswoman of the Year 2009. She grew up around motorcycle racing, a sport her father Dave Sells took up when she was five years old. He began racing in the Manx Grand Prix when she was 12. She has stated that her sole purpose, when she began short circuit racing herself at the age of 27, was to obtain a National Race licence so she could race on the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course.
References
- ↑ "Bill Swallow Isle of Man TT Profile".
- ↑ Aermacchi: Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, Mick Walker, Redline Books, 2006, p. 197.
- ↑ "Huddersfield pensioner tackles Isle of Man Grand Prix motorcycle race - aged 67". Huddersfield Examiner, 1 September 2011.
