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.
John Norman Surtees, was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver. On his way to become a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, he won his first title in 1956, and followed with three consecutive doubles between 1958 and 1960, winning six World Championships in both the 500 and 350cc classes. Surtees then made the move to the pinnacle of motorsport, the Formula One World Championship, and in 1964 made motor racing history by becoming the Formula One World Champion. To this day Surtees remains the only person to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels. He founded the Surtees Racing Organisation team that competed as a constructor in Formula One, Formula 2 and Formula 5000 from 1970 to 1978. He was also the ambassador of the Racing Steps Foundation.
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.
Carlo Ubbiali was an Italian nine-time World Champion motorcycle road racer. In the 1950s, he was a dominant force in the smaller classes of Grand Prix motorcycle racing, winning six 125cc and three 250cc world titles. In 2001, the F.I.M. inducted Ubbiali into the MotoGP Hall of Fame.
Luigi Taveri was a Swiss professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competed in the FIM motorcycle Grand Prix world championships from 1954 to 1966. Taveri is notable for being a three-time 125cc road racing world champion. Although he specialised in the smaller engined machines, Taveri is the only competitor to have scored points in six Grand Prix classes: 50cc, 125cc, 250cc, 350cc, 500cc and Sidecars. In 2016, he was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements.
Ingeborg Stoll-Laforge was a female German motorcycle racer.
The 1970 Isle of Man TT, the fourth round of the 1970 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, involved a number of races on the Mountain Course on the Isle of Man. For the third consecutive year, Giacomo Agostini won both the Junior and Senior races, completing the six laps of the latter race in 2:13.47.6 to win by over five minutes. There were three "production" categories; Malcolm Uphill won the 750 cc, Frank Whiteway the 500 cc and Chas Mortimer the 250 cc. German pairs won both sidecar events; Klaus Enders and Wolfgang Kalauch in the 500 cc and Siegfried Schauzu and H. Schneider in the 750 cc. Kel Carruthers won the Lightweight 250 cc race, while Dieter Braun won the Lightweight 125 cc. Braun's victory was notable because he was one of only seven riders to have won an Isle of Man TT race in their first attempt. Due to the circuit's 37.7 mile length, it usually takes competitors two or three attempts before they learn its nuances.
Louis Christen Racing (LCR) is a Swiss sidecar manufacturer named after founder Louis Christen. LCR sidecars have dominated sidecar road racing winning 30 World Sidecar Championships including every one of Steve Webster's 10 world championships.
Dave Molyneux is a Manx professional Sidecar racer. He is the most successful Sidecar competitor in the history of the Isle of Man TT races, achieving 17 TT victories and 30 podium finishes. His race wins place him fourth on the all-time wins list, behind solo bike racers Joey Dunlop, Michael Dunlop and John McGuinness (23).
The 1972 Isle of Man TT motorcycle races were held between 5–9 June 1972. It was the fifth round of the FIM Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship.
The Kirby BSA sidecar outfit was custom-built as a racing sidecar oufit, specifically designed and developed to compete in the F.I.M. Sidecar World Championship between 1965 and 1973, and built between 1965 and 1966. It was powered by a 654 cc (39.9 cu in) engine from the BSA Spitfire.
Tim Reeves is an English sidecar racer from Tenterden, Kent. He is an eight times Superside FIM World Sidecar Champion, twice with his younger brother Tristan, once with Patrick Farrance (2007) and once with Ashley Hawes (2012) as passenger.
Eric Staines Oliver was an English motorcycle racer best remembered as four-time Sidecar World Champion administered by the FIM, riding a Norton. His passenger in 1949 was Denis Jenkinson. He is also remembered for his innovation, being the first sidecar competitor to use a dustbin fairing, rear suspension and the first to adopt a semi-kneeling riding position.
Klaus Enders was a German Sidecar racer. He was a six-time FIM Sidecar World Champion and a four-time winner of the sidecar class at the Isle of Man TT. Enders decided to retire at the end of the 1970 season and try car racing, only to return to sidecars a year later, winning three more world titles before retiring for good at the end of 1974. His co-drivers were Wolfgang Kalauch and Ralf Engelhardt.
Chris Vincent was a British motorcycle sidecar road racer who was very successful in short-circuit (tarmac) racing in the 1960s and early 1970s. He entered Grands Prix using BSA, BMW and URS engines. He also rode solo motorcycles, particularly in the smaller race classes and production-machine categories.
Helmut Fath was a German sidecar racer and engineer. He won the Sidecar World Championship in 1960 and 1968. His early racing was on BMW R50 sidecars with a chassis of his own design. After a bad accident in 1961, he took time off and returned with his own design URS four-cylinder machine to win the title in 1968. The URS engine was also used in solo competition as well as powering Horst Owesle/Peter Rutterford to the 1971 World Sidecar Championship.
Colin Jordan Seeley was a British motorcycle retailer who later became a motorcycle sidecar racer, motorcycle designer, constructor and retailer of accessories. In 1992 he was involved in running the Norton Rotary race team.
Rolf Steinhausen is a German former motorcycle racer, winner of two Sidecar World Championships.
Fritz Scheidegger was a Swiss sidecar racer who won two Sidecar World Championships.
Ben Birchall and Tom Birchall,, from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, are English motorcycle-with-sidecar road race World Championship-winning competitors in both the F1 and F2 categories and again in the 2017 season – when all competitors used 600 engines.
