The TT Grandstand including the startline, pit lane, re-fuellers, merchandising, scoreboard and paddocks for the Isle of Man TT and Manx Grand Prix races is situated on the A2 Glencrutchery Road, in the town of Douglas, Isle of Man. [3]
The startline for the 1911 TT races was originally situated on a level section of the A2 Quarterbridge Road between Selborne Drive and Woodlands Lodge in Douglas.
The startline and refuelling area was moved to the top of Bray Hill for the 1914 TT races, and then moved in 1920 to the Nobles Park area of the A2 Glencrutchery Road at the junction of Greenfield Road in Douglas.
For the 1920 TT races, changes were made to the Snaefell Mountain Course and competitors turned left at Cronk-ny-Mona and followed the primary A18 Mountain Road to Governor's Bridge Dip with the new start/finish line nearby on the A2 Glencrutchery Road which lengthened the course to 37¾ miles. [4]
For the 1926 Isle of Man TT races the startline section at Glencrutchery Road was improved by road widening and building of a new grandstand complex at a cost of £2,000. [5]
The 1920s wooden structure was demolished and replaced with a modern purpose-built brick design on newly acquired land for the 1986 TT Races. The new development incorporated a race control and communications tower, a wider pit-lane and seating placed 30 ft (9.1 m) further away from the refuellers due to FIM requirements for enhanced competitor and spectator safety concerning fire-risk.
Proposals to re-locate the facility to the other side of the Glencrutchery Road were rejected as being more costly than the projection of £GB450,000. [6] [7]
The official TT regulations paddock diagram shows many public, technical and administrative areas developed into the Grandstand, [8] including:
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The acceleration lane leads from the pit lane to re-join the main road. The deceleration lane provides a braking area, terminating in a hairpin turn-around loop in Nobles Park before connecting to the return road, leading back to the winners enclosure and parc fermé , situated as part of the paddock complex, for all race finishers. [2]
Temporary holiday accommodation in the paddock for TT time was established from 2012 until 2017. [11] [12] [13] The complex was provided by Snoozebox, a business having former Formula 1 racing driver David Coulthard as a principle.
The accommodation was in the form of 45 ft (14 m) stacked shipping containers, modified and fitted-out as commodious sleep cells. [14] [8] [15] [16]
The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing 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 as many competitors have died.
Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, was a British 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 was a British multiple motorcycle Grand Prix road racing world champion. Born in St. Helens, Lancashire, after retirement from competition he was a businessman based in the Isle of Man. He raced several brands of motorcycle: Norton, Gilera, BMW, NSU and Benelli.
Stanley Woods was an Irish motorcycle racer famous for 29 motorcycle Grand Prix wins in the 1920s and 1930s, winning the Isle of Man TT races ten times in his career, plus wins at Assen and elsewhere. He was also a skilled trials rider, competing in the 1940s.
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.
Signpost Corner, Isle of Man is a former temporary motor-cycle race signal station, located on the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road at the road junction with the A39 Hillberry Road / B11 Avondale Road in the parish of Onchan in 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.
St Ninian's Crossroads is situated between the TT Grandstand and the 1st Milestone road-side marker on the Snaefell Mountain Course on the primary A2 Douglas to Ramsey road in the town of Douglas in the Isle of Man.
Bray Hill was formerly a country lane known as the Great Hill during the time of the ownership of the Duke of Atholl, and was previously known as Siberia, originally a triangle-shaped parcel of land in the Murray Estate.
Governor's Bridge is a hairpin bend adjacent to a road junction on the primary A18 Mountain Road in the parish of Onchan in the Isle of Man, with a sudden drop in elevation leading to Governor's Dip, followed by a left-hand bend and finally a right exiting on to the main Glencrutchery Road.
Gooseneck, Isle of Man, is an acute uphill right-bend on the Snaefell Mountain Course used for the TT motorcycle races between the 25th and 26th Milestone racing road-side markers, on the 37+ mile circuitous-course, measured from the startline at the TT Grandstand.
Ramsey Hairpin is a point on the Snaefell Mountain Course used for the Isle of Man TT races on the Snaefell Mountain Road, designated as A18, in the parish of Maughold in the Isle of Man.
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.
Sarah's Cottage is situated between the 11th milestone and 12th milestones on Creg Willey’s Hill on the primary A3 Castletown to Ramsey Road in the parish of Kirk German in the Isle of Man.
Hillberry Corner is situated at the 36th Milestone road-side marker on the Snaefell Mountain Course, being on the primary A18 Mountain Road with the side-road junction of the C22 Little Mill Road, in the parish of Onchan in the Isle of Man.
Quarterbridge is situated soon after the 1 mile-marker measured from the TT Grandstand, part of the Snaefell Mountain Course used for the Isle of Man TT races, at the junction of the primary A1 Douglas to Peel road, A2 Douglas to Ramsey road and the A5 Douglas to Port Erin road which forms the boundary between the parishes of Braddan and Onchan in the Isle of Man.
Michael Dunlop is a Northern Irish professional motorcycle racer. Part of a motorcycle racing dynasty, Michael is the brother of the late William Dunlop, son of Robert and nephew of former World Champion Joey Dunlop.
Quarterbridge Road is situated adjacent to the 1st Milestone road-side marker measured from the startline at TT Grandstand used for the Snaefell Mountain Course on the primary A2 Ramsey to Douglas road in the town of Douglas, Isle of Man.
The Nook is situated on the primary A18 Mountain Road in the parish of Onchan in the Isle of Man between the 37th Milestone road-side marker on the Snaefell Mountain Course and the TT Grandstand on the primary A2 Glencrutchery Road in the town of Douglas.