The Isle of Man TT Mountain Course or TT 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.
James Guthrie was a Scottish motorcycle racer.
The 1924 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy saw the introduction of the Ultra-Lightweight class for motorcycles of 175 cc capacity that was run only twice, in 1924 and 1925. This was the second year of the Sidecar race that would also be dropped after 1925.
The 1939 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the last races until 1947 due to the interruption by World War II. It was also the last of ten Isle of Man TT victories for the 34-year-old Stanley Woods in which he won the Junior TT on a Velocette at 83.19 mph and also finished in 4th place in the Senior TT race. The 250cc Lightweight TT race was a first time winner for Ted Mellors and the Benelli marque. The Senior TT race was won by the German competitor Georg Meier on a supercharged 500cc BMW Type 255 motor-cycle.
The 1937 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy saw Freddie Frith break the 90+ mph lap for the first time during the Senior TT with a speed of 90.27 mph on his Norton beating Stanley Woods by only 15 seconds. Frith also beat Wood in the Junior TT but only with a second placing.
The 1936 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy saw Norton rider Jimmie Guthrie win the Senior, and come fifth in the Junior. The Junior was won by Freddie Frith in his first year on the Norton team, and the Lightweight was won by Bob Foster on a New Imperial.
For the 1935 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, Stanley Woods provided another surprise by moving again, from Husqvarna to Moto Guzzi.
For the 1934 Isle of Man TT Races, despite the winning of four TT Races in two years, Stanley Woods parted with Norton motorcycles over the issue of prize money and race tactics and joined Husqvarna alongside Ernie Nott.
The 1933 Isle of Man TT saw a double victory for Stanley Woods, who won the Junior TT Race at an average speed of 78.08 mph (125.66 km/h), heading a top three place finish for riders from the Norton marque, followed by Tim Hunt and Jimmie Guthrie.
The 1932 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy race meeting was watched by Prince George, Duke of Kent, the first royal visitor to the Isle of Man TT Races. The 1932 Junior TT Race was won by Stanley Woods riding a Norton at an average race speed of 77.16 mph (124.18 km/h) from Wal Handley and Tyrell Smith riding for the Rudge factory. Again Rudge were beaten in the 1932 Lightweight TT Race by Leo H. Davenport riding a New Imperial motorcycle at an average race speed of 70.48 mph (113.43 km/h). The 1932 Senior TT Race provided Stanley Woods with the "Norton Habit" and another Junior/Senior double win at an average race speed of 79.38 mph (127.75 km/h). The 1932 Senior TT Race was initially led on the first lap by Norton teammate Jimmie Simpson who set a new overall lap record of 27 minutes and 47 seconds at an average speed of 81.50 mph (131.16 km/h). Also on the first lap Wal Handley riding for Rudge crashed at the 11th milestone sustaining a back injury and retired. The place on the TT course where the incident occurred was renamed Handley's Corner.
The 1931 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was again dominated by the battle between Rudge, Sunbeam and Norton motorcycles.
The 1930 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was dominated by the Rudge marque. Despite problems in practice for Rudge and the new George Hicks designed four-valve over-head valve motor-cycles the 1930 Junior TT was a closely contested race. At the end of the first lap, Charlie Dodson riding for Sunbeam led the Rudge of H. G. Tyrell Smith by only 4 seconds. On lap 2, a dead-heat was posted between Dodson and Tyrell Smith both completing the Snaefell mountain course in 1 hour, 3 minutes and 32 seconds. At Kirk Michael on lap 3, Charlie Dodson retires with valve problems, leaving Tyrell Smith to win the 7 lap race at an average speed of 71.08 mph (114.39 km/h) from Rudge team-mates Ernie Nott and Graham Walker.
The 1957 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the Golden Jubilee event and the second race in the 1957 Motorcycle World Championships.
In the 1928 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy the newly developed 'positive-stop' foot gear-change by Velocette gave Alec Bennett his fifth TT Race win in the 1928 Junior, in the time of 3 hours, 50 minutes and 52 seconds, at an average speed of 68.65 mph (110.48 km/h), and setting a lap record at an average speed of 67.19 mph (108.13 km/h), with his teammate Harold Willis coming second.
The 1927 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy saw more changes occur with a fatal accident during practice to Archie Birkin, a brother to Tim Birkin of the Bentley Boys fame. The corner in Kirk Michael where the accident occurred was renamed Birkins Bend and from 1928 practice sessions were held on closed-roads. In the 1927 Junior TT Race the retirement of Wal Handley on the last-lap handed the victory to Freddie W Dixon, riding a HRD motorcycle, winning at an average speed of 67.19 mph (108.13 km/h).
Further changes occurred in the 1926 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy with the scrapping of the Side-Car TT and Ultra-Lightweight TT Races from the lack of entries. Most of the TT Course had now been tarmacked, including the Snaefell Mountain Section. Another change in 1926 was the ban on alcohol based fuels, forcing competitors to use road petrol. Despite these changes the prestige of the Isle of Man TT Races had encouraged the Italian motor-cycle manufacturers Bianchi, Garelli and Moto Guzzi to enter.
The 1925 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the second and final year of the Ultra-Lightweight class for motorcycles of 175 cc capacity. This was the third year of the Sidecar race, which was also dropped after 1925.
The 1954 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the second race in the 1954 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season and proved highly controversial for TT Course and race changes. The 1954 Junior TT was the first race where the official race distance was reduced from 7 laps to 5 laps. The 1954 Senior TT Race was stopped at half distance due to the weather conditions on the Mountain Section of the course.
Walter Leslie Handley born in Aston, Birmingham, known as Wal Handley, was a champion British inter-war motorcycle racer with four wins at the Isle of Man TT Races in his career. Later he also raced cars in the 1930s, and died in a World War II aircraft accident while serving as pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary.
The Isle of Man TT and other motorcycle racing in the island did not restart after the end of the First World War until 1920. Changes were made to the Snaefell Mountain Course causing competitors to turn left and proceed up the hill at Cronk-ny-Mona to follow the primary A18 Snaefell Mountain Road through to Governor's Bridge with a new start/finish line at Glencrutchery Road lengthening the course to 37¾ miles.
