Isle of Man TT
Motor racing first came to the Isle of Man in 1904 when the Gordon Bennett car trials were held.
In England the Government made it impossible to close the
public roads for any sort of motor racing so a proposal was put The
Manx Government brought in new legislation to enable the closing of public roads for motor racing and the
Isle of Man was ready to take up the mantle of the Road Racing Capital of the World, a slogan it has used for many years.
The first motorcycle race held on the Island was the
qualifying trials for the International race to be held in Austria. The
course used ran from Quarter Bridge south to Castletown, then back
through Foxdale to Ballacraine, then reverse way to the TT back to
Quarter Bridge.
The first TT races where held on the triangular course
with the start at St John's. The riders proceeded along to Ballacraine
before turning left and following the current TT course through to Kirk Michael. At Douglas Road Corner in
Kirk Michael, the short course left the current TT course and followed
the coast road to Peel, before turning left again and heading back to
St John's. In 1907 two races were held on the short course with H. Rem
Fowler winning the twin cylinder class on a Peugeot-engined Norton at
36.22mph and Charlie Collier the single cylinder class on a Matchless
at 38.22mph. They each set the fastest lap in their respective classes,
Fowler at 42.91 mph and Collier at 41.81 mph.
The short course was used for the first 4 years and in 1910
Charlie Collier won the last TT on the short course on a Matchless at
50.63mph. The fastest lap that year was by H Bowen on a BAT at 53.15
mph. In 1911 the racing moved to the Mountain circuit, which is used
today.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO THE ISLE OF MAN T.T. RACES? HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO THE ISLE OF MAN? YOU CAN TRAVEL ALL OVER THE WORLD LIKE I HAVE BUT LIKE MY BEAUTIFUL WALES, THE ISLE OF MAN IS FABULOUS. IF YOU LOVE BIKES , LIKE I DID, (STILL DO) BUT I'M PAST THE RIDING BIT. WOW GO WHEN THE TT IS ON. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT. STEP INSIDE TO REMEMBER THE DAYS OF THE DUCATI AND THE ENFIELD, THE TRIUMPH AND THE OLD BONE SHAKER ITSELF... THE B.S.A.
