The races were run in a time-trial format on public roads closed for racing by an Act of Tynwald (the parliament of the Isle of Man) around a circuit starting from the village of St John's, proceeding through Ballacraine, Kirk Michael, Peel and back to St John's
The first motorcycle race was held on 28 May 1907 over 10 laps of the Short Course of 15miles 1,470yards and was for road-legal touring motor-cycles with exhaust silencers, saddles, pedals and mud-guards.[1]
Motor racing began on the Isle of Man in 1904 with the Gordon Bennett Trial and was originally restricted to touring cars. As the UK Motor Car Act 1903 of Parliament placed a mainland speed restriction of 20mph on cars, the Secretary of the Automobile Car Club of Britain and Ireland approached the authorities in the Isle of Man for the permission to race cars on public roads.[2] The Highways (Light Locomotive) Act 1904 gave permission in the Isle of Man for the 52.15mile Highlands Course for the 1904 Gordon Bennett Trial.
For the 1905 Gordon Bennett Car event it was decided to run a trial for motorcycles the day after for a team to represent Great Britain in the International Motor Cycle Cup Races. An accident at Ramsey Hairpin forced-out one of the pre-race favourites and the inability of the motorcycle competitors to climb the steep Mountain Section of the course forced the organisers to use a 25mile section of the Gordon Bennett Trial course. This ran from Douglas using the primary A5 Douglas to Port Erin road to Castletown, from Castletown to Ballacraine using the A3 Castletown to Ramsey Road and returned to the start at the Quarterbridge in Douglas via Crosby and Glen Vine along the current Snaefell Mountain Course in the reverse direction using the A1Douglas to Peel road.[3]
During the 1906 International Cup for Motor Cycles held in Austria, the event was plagued by accusations of cheating and sharp practices. During a conversation on the train journey home between the Secretary of the Auto-Cycle Club, Freddie Straight, brothers Charlie Collier and Harry Collier of Matchless Motor Cycles and the Marquis de Mouzilly St. Mars lead to a suggestion for a race the following year for road touring motorcycles based on the car races held in the Isle of Man on closed public roads. The new race was proposed by the Editor of "The Motor Cycle" magazine at the annual dinner of the Auto-Cycle Club held in London on 17 January 1907.[4] It was proposed that the races would be run in two classes, with single-cylinder machines to average 90 mpg and twin-cylinder machines to average 75 mpg fuel consumption. To emphasise the road-touring nature of the motorcycles there were regulations for saddles, pedals, mudguards and exhaust silencers.
First Race 1907
The 1907 Tourist Trophy was the first of the Isle of Man TT races. The races took place on 28 May 1907 over the St John's Short Course. The race was ten laps of the 15mile 1,430yards course, a total of 158 1/8 miles.
On Tuesday 28 May 1907, pairs of riders from the 25 entrants started together using a time-trial format.[5] The race for the single cylinder-class was won by Charles R.Collier riding a Matchless motorcycle in 4hours, 8minutes and 8 seconds at an average race speed of 38.21mph. His brother, Harry Collier also riding a Matchless motorcycle had problems with an engine seziure on lap 2 and eventually retired on lap 9.[6]
1907 Single Cylinder TT Race
Tuesday 28 May 1907 – 10 laps (158 ⅛ miles) – Short Course.
The 1907 Twin-Cylinder class and overall race was initially led by Rem Fowler riding a Norton motor-cycle. The overall lead fell away as Rem Fowler suffered a number of problems with drive belts and spark plugs and on lap 7 crashed at nearly 60mph due to a burst tyre at the "Devil's Elbow" on the Kirk Michael to Peel section of the course. Fowler nearly gave up, but was told by a spectator that he led the twin-cylinder class by 30minutes from Billy Wells and went on to win at an average race speed of 36.22mph and set the fastest lap of the race at 42.91mph, winning a cash prize of £25.
1907 Twin-Cylinder TT Race
Tuesday 28 May 1907 – 10 laps (158 ⅛ miles) – Short Course.
For the 1908 race the fuel consumption was raised to 100 mpg for single-cylinder machines and 80 mpg for twin-cylinder machines and the use of pedals was banned. The race was won by Jack Marshall on a Triumph motorcycle at an average speed of 40.49mph. For the 1909 event the fuel consumption regulations was abandoned along with the use of exhaust silencers. The single-cylinder machines where limited to a capacity of 500cc and the twins to a 750cc engine capacity. Due to the concern over increasing lap-speed, the 1910 event saw the capacity of the twin-cylinder machines reduced to 670cc. However, Harry Bowen riding a BAT twin-cylinder motor-cycle increased the lap record to an average speed of 53.15mph, later crashing-out on the wooden banking at Ballacraine.
Sources
↑ Motocourse History of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Races 1907–1989 by Nick Harris pp11 (1990)(1st Edition) Hazelton Publishing ISBN0-905138-71-6
↑ Island Racer 2004 pp.112–113 Mortons Media Group Ltd ISSN1743-5838
↑ Island Racer 2005 pp64 Mortons Media Group Ltd ISSN1743-5838
↑ Isle of Man TT by Charles Deane pp10-11 (1st Edition)(1975) Patrick Stevens Ltd ISBN0-85059-172-4
↑ Isle of Man TT by Charles Deane pp13 (1st Edition)(1975) Patrick Stevens Ltd ISBN0-85059-172-4
The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle sport event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world.
The 1907 Isle of Man TT races were the inaugural International Tourist Trophy for motor-cycles held on the Isle of Man. The event was held on Tuesday 28 May 1907 over the St John's Short Course consisting of a Single Cylinder and a Twin-Cylinder class. The race was ten laps of the 15 mile 1,430 yards course, a total race distance of 158 miles 220 yards.
The 1911 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy races took place for the first time over the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course. The whole organisation of the races was given over to the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU), which announced the use of the longer mountain course with a four lap (150 mile) Junior race on Friday 30 June, and five laps (189 mile) for the Senior race on Monday 3 July. In only five years the TT races had matured and commercialism had set-in. Grandstands were built by the Douglas Corporation in what had been popular and free vantage points in Douglas, to the displeasure of the public.
The Isle of Man TT Mountain Course or TT Course is a motorcycle road-racing circuit located in the Isle of Man. 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.
The 1920 Isle of Man TT races was the first races to take place following the end of World War I. Official practice sessions started on 31 May with the races taking place on 15 and 17 June 1920.
James Guthrie was a Scottish motorcycle racer.
The 1957 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the Golden Jubilee event and the second race in the 1957 Motorcycle World Championships.
The Lightweight TT is a motorcycle road race that is a part of the Isle of Man TT festival - an annual motorcycle event traditionally held over the last week of May and first week of June.
Charlie Collier of Plumstead, London, was a British motorcycle racer famous for winning Isle of Man TT races twice in his career. After competing in the 1906 International Cup Races on the European continent, Charlie Collier became the first Isle of Man TT race winner in 1907.
Peter Williams is a British former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle road racing from 1966 to 1973. He also competed at many levels on home short-circuit races. He raced many times on the Isle of Man TT course from 1966 to 1973. His father was Jack Williams who ran the Associated Motor Cycles (AMC) race department. Williams trained in mechanical engineering and introduced via racing an innovation which is commonplace on today's road bikes, alloy wheels, and was an early pioneer of disc brakes.
The Four Inch Course was a road-racing circuit first used for the 1908 Tourist Trophy Race for cars, held on public roads closed for racing by an Act of Tynwald. The name of the course derives from the regulations for the 1908 Tourist Trophy adopted by the Royal Automobile Club, which limited the competitors' engines to a cylinder-diameter of four inches. The Four-Inch Course was adopted by the Auto-Cycle Club for the 1911 Isle of Man TT Races. The Four-Inch Course was subsequently known as the Snaefell Mountain Course or Mountain Course when used for motor-cycle racing.
Laurel Bank is situated between the 10th Milestone and 11th Milestone road-side markers on the primary A3 Castletown to Ramsey Road between Ballacraine and Glen Helen in the parish of Kirk German in the Isle of Man.
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.
Ballacraine is located between the 7th Milestone and 8th Milestone on the primary A1 Douglas to Peel road and the road junction of the primary A3 Castletown to Ramsey in the parish of Kirk German in the Isle of Man.
The 2010 Isle of Man TT Festival was held between Saturday 29 May and Friday 11 June on the 37.73-mile Isle of Man TT Mountain Course. The 2010 races again included a second 600 cc Supersport Junior TT race. The Lightweight TT and Ultra-Lightweight TT race class previously held on the 4.25-mile (6.84 km) Billown Circuit in the Isle of Man for the 2008 Isle of Man TT and 2009 Isle of Man TT were dropped from the 2010 race schedule. The 2010 Isle of Man TT Races included the one-lap TT Zero for racing motorcycles "to be powered without the use of carbon based fuels and have zero toxic/noxious emissions." which replaced the TTXGP and also a Suzuki 50th Anniversary Lap of Honour and the TT Classic Parade which were held before the main Senior TT race.
The 2010 Manx Grand Prix races were held between Saturday 21 August and Friday 3 September 2010 on the 37.733-mile Mountain Course.
TT Zero – an electric motorsport event new for the 2010 Isle of Man TT races – replaced the TTXGP race as a 1-lap circuit of the Snaefell Mountain Course. The TT Zero event as an officially sanctioned Isle of Man TT race is for racing motorcycles where "The technical concept is for motorcycles to be powered without the use of carbon based fuels and have zero toxic/noxious emissions." The Isle of Man Government offered a prize of £10,000 for the first entrant to exceed the prestigious 100 mph average speed around the Mountain Course.
2012 Manx Grand Prix Festival and Races were held between Saturday 18 August and Friday 31 August 2012 on the 37.73-mile Snaefell Mountain Course.
2013 Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling including the Manx Grand Prix and the Classic TT Races were held between Saturday 17 August and Friday 30 August 2013 on the 37.73-mile Mountain Course.
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