Isle of Man TT
The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event held on the Isle of Man in May and June of mostly every year since its inaugural race in 1907. The two week event is sanctioned by the Auto Cycle Union, which also organises the event through its commercial arm known as Auto-Cycle Union Events Ltd. The Manx government owns the rights to, and promotes the event.
The Isle of Man TT is a series of time-trial format races, run on public roads closed for racing. The event consists of one week of practice and qualifying sessions, followed by one week of racing. The closed public roads form the Snaefell Mountain Course, a 37.73 mile route containing 219 turns that traverses through a mix of urban and rural areas. The event currently features 5 different classes of road racing, each competing in two races over the course of the racing week. Since the inaugural Isle of Man TT in 1907, the event has been held mostly every year since, with seasons being cancelled only due to war or disease outbreak. The TT has become part of the local culture and economy of the Isle of Man with more than 40,000 visitors annually traveling to the island for the event.
History
Motor racing began on the Isle of Man in 1904 with the Gordon Bennett Eliminating Trial, restricted to touring automobiles. The Motor Car Act 1903 placed a speed restriction of on all automobiles in the UK, effectively restricting road racing activities. Julian Orde, Secretary of the Automobile Car Club of Britain and Ireland approached the authorities on the Isle of Man for the permission to race automobiles on the island's public roads. The Manx government agreed, and passed the Highways Act. This gave permission for the 1904 Gordon Bennett Eliminating Trial to take place on the Isle of Man around the Highroads Course. The first year of the trial was won by Clifford Earl in 7 hours 26.5 minutes, driving five laps of the Highroads Course for a total of. The following year, the Gordon Bennett Trial was held again, on 30 May 1905 and was again won by Clifford Earl driving a Napier automobile, completing six laps in 6 hours and 6 minutes. In September 1905, the first Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Race for automobiles, now known as the RAC Tourist Trophy was held. This race was won by John Napier in 6 hours and 9 minutes at an average speed of.In 1905, it was decided to run an eliminating trial for motorcycles the day after the Gordon Bennett Eliminating Trial. This was to qualify a team to represent Great Britain in the International Motor-Cycle Cup Race held in Austria. The inability of the motorcycles to climb the steep Mountain Section of the course forced the organisers to use a smaller section of the Gordon Bennett Trial course that included less elevation. This ran from Douglas south to Castletown and then north to Ballacraine along the primary A3 road, returning to the start at the Quarterbridge in Douglas via Crosby and Glen Vine along the current Snaefell Mountain Course in the reverse direction. The 1905 International Motor-Cycle Cup Race consisted of five laps, and was won by J.S. Campbell despite a fire during a pit stop. Campbell completed the 125 mi race distance in 4 hours, 9 minutes and 36 seconds at an average race speed of.
The 1906 International Motor-Cycle Cup race was plagued by accusations of cheating and fraudulence. Frustrated by the experience, the Secretary of the Auto-Cycle Club, Freddie Straight, brothers Charlie Collier and Harry Collier of Matchless Motorcycles, and the Marquis de Mouzilly St. Mars had a conversation on the train journey home that led to a suggestion of a race the following year for road touring motorcycles based on the automobile races held on the Isle of Man.
Early history (1907–1948)
At the Annual Auto Cycle Club dinner party on 17 January 1907, the editor of Motorcycle Magazine formally proposed this new race for motorcycles on the Isle of Man. This new race, named the Auto-Cycle Tourist Trophy, was to take inspiration from the earlier motorcycle trial race that was held in 1905, running on a shorter course with less elevation than the mountain course used by automobiles. This shorter course, named the St. John’s Short Course formed a 15.85 mile triangular shape, and the race was set at 10 laps for a 158.5 mi overall distance. Based on the touring oriented style racing at the time, two classes were established for the Auto Cycle Tourist Trophy based on number of cylinders and fuel economy. The first was a single cylinder class, with a fuel economy limit of 90 miles per gallon of fuel, and the second was a two cylinder class, with fuel economy limit of 75 miles per gallon of fuel throughout the race. The machines competing were mandated to be touring motorcycles equipped with saddles, pedals, mudguards, exhaust silencers, and a toolkit.The first Isle of Man TT race was held on Tuesday 28 May 1907. Charles Collier won the single cylinder class riding a Matchless machine at an average speed of 38.22 mph. Rem Fowler won the two cylinder class riding a Peugeot engined Norton at an average speed of 36.22 mph. Of the 25 race entrants, only 12 finished the race. Auto-Cycle Tourist Trophy Races continued for the next four years on the St John's 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 1908 race was won by Jack Marshall on a Triumph motorcycle at an average speed of 40.49 mph. In 1909, the fuel consumption regulations were abandoned along with the use of exhaust silencers. The single-cylinder machines were 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. By 1910, the last year of the short course, the average speed had risen to 55.15 mph, achieved by Charlie Collier riding on a Matchless motorcycle.
Due to the ever increasing speeds and technical innovations seen in previous years competitions, the 1911 TT was moved to the much longer and challenging Snaefell Mountain Course. At the time this course was 37.40 miles long, with its layout differing slightly from the current mountain course. Similar to the short course of the previous years, much of the mountain course consisted of unpaved dusty tracks with loose rutted surfaces that created many obstacles for the riders to overcome. The two classes were changed and renamed as the Senior and Junior classes. The Senior class permitted single cylinder machines with engines displacing up to 500cc and two cylinder machines with engines up to 500cc. The Junior class permitted 300cc single cylinder and 340cc two cylinder motorcycles. Each class was run in their own separate race, instead of together as in previous years. The Senior race was five laps and the Junior race was four laps. The steep gradients of the mountain course made the single gear machines of the past years obsolete, requiring manufacturers to develop some type of transmission to be competitive. American built Indian motorcycles proved to be well suited to the mountain course and won the top three positions in the Senior TT race. Oliver Godfrey won the Senior class with an average speed of 47.63 mph. The 1911 TT recorded the first fatality at the motorcycle race with Victor Surridge dying from a crash during practice.
The Isle of Man TT continued in a similar format for the next three years. The 1912 race was boycotted due to protests from some Isle of Man residents regarding the safety of the event. Despite this the TT continued, albeit with a much reduced entry list. Additionally the classes were tweaked for 1912 with both single and two cylinder motorcycles being held to the same engine displacement, 500cc for the Senior, and 350cc for the Junior. The 1913 race saw a large rebound in the number of entrants compared to the previous year. The race format was changed, now with two races per class. A six lap Junior race was split up into two races, a two lap event, and a four lap event. The seven lap Senior race was split up, starting with a three lap event, with another 4 lap race being run concurrently with the 4 lap Junior race. The 1914 race was the last to be held before the outbreak of World War I, motorcycle racing would not return to the Isle of Man until 1920.
With sufficient entries to satisfy the ACU, the TT returned in 1920 with multiple changes made to the event. The course was altered to its current 37.75 mile format, with the riders now starting at the top of Bray Hill. A new Lightweight class was added as part of the Junior race. This Lightweight class permitted motorcycles displacing up to 250cc. The first and second place winners of the 1920 Senior TT were the first to finish a TT with an average speed over 50 miles per hour. In the following 1921 TT, Howard Davies became the first and only rider to have ever won a Senior TT while riding a Junior TT machine. By 1922, the Lightweight class had proved to be popular enough that it became its own five lap race, for a total of three separate races in the event. The 1923 running of the TT saw Stanley Woods win his first TT in the Junior race. Another class change came in 1923 with the introduction of the Sidecar class being run in its own three lap race. Freddie Dixon and Walter Perry won this inaugural sidecar race at an average speed of 53.15 miles per hour.
A new Ultra-Lightweight Class was added for the 1924 TT, which permitted machines displacing up to 175cc, competing in their own race. The 1924 Lightweight TT was unique in that it was a "mass start" event in which the entire grid started at the same time. This is in contrary to the typical TT races in which the riders are started one by one with a set time interval. In 1925 Wal Handley became the first rider ever to win two TT races in one week, taking first place in both the Junior and Ultra-Lightweight races. In 1926 the ACU removed both the Sidecar and the Ultra-Lightweight classes due to a lack of entries. Additionally, there was pressure from the manufacturers to remove the sidecar class due to their feelings that racing was not the best way to promote sidecar sales. This left only the Senior, Junior and Lightweight classes, each running in their own seven lap race. The 1926 TT also produced the first ever 70 mile per hour lap, set by Jimmy Simpson who had also set the first 60 mile per hour lap average. Throughout the 1920s road conditions the Mountain Course gradually improved, and by the end of the decade almost the entire mountain section was paved. The improved course, combined with motorcycle development saw lap records consistently broken during this period.
From the first Isle of Man TT in 1907 all the way through 1927, practice occurred with the roads open. Therefore, riders had to avoid pedestrians and vehicles that were going about their daily business. During a practice session for the 1927 TT, rider Archie Birkin swerved to dodge a fish van on the road and ended up hitting a wall. He died from his injuries, and this incident prompted the ACU to close roads for practice every year thereafter.
The popularity of the TT had been building throughout the 1920s and by 1930, portions of the Senior TT were broadcast by BBC for the first time. The increase in popularity brought an increase in the prize money, which in turn attracted more participants. The 1930 race saw entrants from 19 different countries, cementing the Isle of Man TT as a significant international motorcycle racing event. This is further proved by the 1931 event, in which 153 machines of 22 different makes entered, including eight foreign factory teams. Jimmy Simpson again raised the bar in the 1931 Senior TT and set the first 80 mile per hour lap record. Despite being the first rider to set 60, 70, and 80 mile per hour laps, Jimmy Simpson had still not won a TT by 1931. In the face of mounting international factory competition, British built bikes remained the most competitive over the first half of the 1930’s. The two most dominant British makes at the time were Norton and Rudge and their battles to be the fastest at the TT bred significant innovations in their race bikes such as overhead camshafts and multi-valve heads. The British dominance would come to an end in 1935 when experienced rider Standley Woods switched to Moto Guzzi motorcycles. He went on to win both the Senior and the Lightweight races, setting a new course record in the process.
To remain competitive, British manufacturers such as Norton and Velocette, chose to focus on the handling of their single cylinder motorcycles. With more advanced suspension systems front and rear, the singles remained in the fight and in 1938, Harold Daniell riding a Norton, set the first ever average race speed above 90 miles per hour. This record of 91 mph over seven laps of the Mountain course would stand for 12 years until being broken after World War II. The 1938 TT was also the first to have a German made motorcycle win a race, with a two-stroke DKW winning the Lightweight TT. The German manufacturers returned in force for the 1939 race with BMW, NSU and DKW fielding factory machines. The supercharged BMW twin would go on to win the Senior TT, ridden by Georg Meier. The 1939 TT was the last to be held before the outbreak of World War II.
The Isle of Man TT returned for the first time after World War II in 1947. Based on the performance of the BMWs in the 1939 Senior TT, superchargers were banned from the race. Introduced was a new Clubman’s set of classes which allowed essentially standard road going motorcycles to compete, so long as they were fitted with lights and kick starter. The Clubman's classes mirrored the existing classes, with a Clubman's Lightweight, Clubman's Junior, and Clubman's Senior class all competing in their own races. The riders were little-known, but as the stars were barred from entering the class, it provided a stepping-stone for future-stars. Like the early Lightweight TT races, the Clubman's races were "mass start" events. The Senior TT remained the ultimate race of the weekend and Harold Daniel, riding a Norton, went on to repeat his success of 1938 taking first place. Due to the much lower quality of petrol after the war, his fastest lap was only 84.07 mph, significantly slower than nine years prior. By 1948 running, the TT had firmly recovered from the post war slump with over 100 entrants across the four classes.