Isle of Man TT


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.

Overview

The Isle of Man TT is run in a time-trial format on public roads closed to the public by an Act of Tynwald. The event consists of one week of practice sessions followed by one week of racing. It has been a tradition, perhaps started by racing competitors in the early 1920s, for spectators to tour the Snaefell Mountain Course on motorcycles during the Isle of Man TT on "Mad Sunday", an informal and unofficial sanctioned event held on the Sunday between 'Practice Week' and 'Race Week'.
The first Isle of Man TT race was held on Tuesday 28 May 1907 and was called the International Auto-Cycle Tourist Trophy. The event was organised by the Auto-Cycle Club over 10 laps of the Isle of Man St John's Short Course of 15 miles 1,470 yards for road-legal 'touring' motorcycles with exhaust silencers, saddles, pedals and mudguards.
From 1911 the Isle of Man TT transferred to the much longer Snaefell Mountain Course of . Its elevation goes from sea-level to 1,300 feet. The race programme developed from a single race with two classes for the 1907 Isle of Man TT, expanding in 1911 to two individual races for the 350cc Junior TT motor-cycles and the Blue Riband event the 500cc Senior TT race. The race did not take place from 1915 to 1919 due to the First World War. It resumed in 1920. A 250cc Lightweight TT race was added to the Isle of Man TT programme in 1922, followed by a Sidecar TT race in 1923.
There was no racing on the Isle of Man between 1940 and 1945 due to the Second World War. It recommenced with the Manx Grand Prix in 1946 and the Isle of Man TT in 1947, with a greatly expanded format that included the new Clubman's TT races. The Isle of Man TT became part of the FIM Motor-cycle Grand Prix World Championship as the British round of the World Motor-Cycling Championship during the period 1949–1976. Following safety concerns with the Snaefell Mountain Course and problems over inadequate "start-money" for competitors, there was a boycott of the Isle of Man TT races from the early 1970s by many of the leading competitors, motorcycle manufacturers and national motorcycle sporting federations.
It is still regarded in popular culture as the most dangerous motorsport event in the world, with the New York Times stating that the number of deaths has risen "to 146 since it was first run in 1907; if one includes fatal accidents occurring during the Manx Grand Prix, the amateur races held later in the summer on the same Snaefell Mountain Course, the figure rises above 250". An on-site account of the 2003 race by Sports Illustrated writer Franz Lidz called the spectacle "38 Miles of Terror... a test of nerves and speed that may be sport's most dangerous event." In 1976, the Isle of Man TT lost its world championship status; this was transferred to the United Kingdom by the FIM and run as the British Grand Motor-Cycle Grand Prix for the 1977 season. The Isle of Man TT Races then became an integral part of the new style TT Formula 1, Formula 2 and Formula 3 World Championships between 1977 and 1990 to develop and maintain the international racing status of the Isle of Man TT races. The event was redeveloped by the Isle of Man Department of Tourism as the Isle of Man TT Festival from 1989 onwards. This included new racing events for the new Isle of Man TT Festival programme, including the Pre-TT Classic Races in 1989 followed by the Post-TT Races from 1991, both held on the Billown Circuit. In 2013, the Isle of Man Classic TT was developed by the Isle of Man Department of Economic Development and the Auto-Cycle Union for historic racing motorcycles, and along with the Manx Grand Prix now forms part of the 'Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling' held in late August of each year.
There has been criticism of the event. In 2007 an incident during the Senior Race resulted in the deaths of a rider and two spectators. The resultant inquest made several recommendations and included several comments, such as: 'Senior Marshals may well have been elevated beyond the sphere of their competence'. The coroner also noted that "I am more than aware of the fact that the witnesses from the Manx Motor Cycle Club and the marshals are all volunteers. They give their time freely and without paid reward. Having said that however, if it were suggested because they were volunteers there should be some allowance in the standards expected of them, then I regret I cannot agree."
In 2018, a solo competitor was seriously injured during a head-on collision with an official Course Car being driven at high speed when conveying police officers to officiate at the scene of a fatality further along the course. He was one of seven riders who had been halted on the course and turned back by marshals, being instructed to proceed back to the paddock area in the reverse-direction after the red flag stoppage.
In 2020, Isle of Man TT Races which were due to take place between 30 May and 13 June were cancelled as the island stepped up its measures to protect the population against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early Isle of Man TT race history (1904–1910)

Gordon Bennett and Tourist Trophy car races

Motor racing began on the Isle of Man in 1904 with the Gordon Bennett Eliminating Trial, restricted to touring automobiles. As the Motor Car Act 1903 placed a speed restriction of on automobiles in the UK, Julian Orde, Secretary of the Automobile Car Club of Britain and Ireland approached the authorities in the Isle of Man for the permission to race automobiles on the island's public roads. The Highways Act 1904 gave permission in the Isle of Man for the Highroads Course for the 1904 Gordon Bennett Eliminating Trial which was won by Clifford Earl in 7 hours 26.5 minutes for five laps of the Highroads Course. The 1905 Gordon Bennett Trial was held on 30 May 1905 and was again won by Clifford Earl driving a Napier automobile in 6 hours and 6 minutes for six laps of the Highroads Course. This was followed in September 1905 with the first Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Race for racing automobiles, now known as the RAC Tourist Trophy and was won by John Napier in 6 hours and 9 minutes at an average speed of.

International Motor-Cycle Cup Race (1905)

For the 1905 Gordon Bennett Eliminating Trial it was decided to run an eliminating trial for motorcycles the day afterwards 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 competitors to climb the steep Mountain Section of the course forced the organisers to use a section of the Gordon Bennett Trial course. This ran from Douglas south to Castletown and then north to Ballacraine along the primary A3 road and 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 for five laps was won by J.S. Campbell despite a fire during a pit stop in 4 hours, 9 minutes and 36 seconds at an average race speed of.

Format of the races

The TT Races since the first race in 1907 have been in the format of time-trial. The races held on the Clypse Course during the period 1954–1959 were the more traditional full grid starts along with the 1924 Lightweight TT Race and Clubmen TT Races from 1948, which were also "mass-start" races. The current format is a "clutch start" and race competitors will be "started singly at 10-second intervals".

Race procedure

Entrants must be in possession of a valid National Entrants or FIM Sponsors Licence for Road Racing.
Entrants must cite pre-filled documentation of completion of a UK drivers licence or motorcycle certification or a drivers licence from a comparable country that is recognized by UK comparable department of transportation standards and may withhold due to any pre race or post race suspensions.

Race classes

Superbike TT

The 2015 specification for entries into the Superbike TT race are defined as:
Minimum Weight. Other machines admitted at the discretion of the Organisers

Supersport TT

The 1911 Isle of Man TT was the first time the Junior TT race took place, open to 300 cc single-cylinder and 340 cc twin cylinder motorcycles, contested over five laps of the new Snaefell Mountain Course. The first event on the new course was the Junior TT Race contested by 35 entrants, won by Percy J. Evans riding a Humber motor-cycle at an average race speed of. The 1912 event was the first to limit the Junior TT to only 350 cc machines and this engine capacity prevailed until 1976, after which the category was dropped. The event was instead run for 250 cc machines until 1994 when replaced by the 600 cc Supersport class.
The 2015 specifications for entries into the Supersport TT race are:
Minimum Weight 161 kg

Superstock TT

The 2015 specifications for entries for the Superstock TT, an event for production based motorcycles racing with treaded road tyres, are based on the FIM Superstock Championship specifications, as follows:
Minimum Weight 170 kg

Lightweight TT

The 1922 event was the first time the Lightweight TT race took place, won by a motorcycle-journalist Geoff S. Davison, riding a Levis at an average speed of for seven laps of the Snaefell Mountain Course. In the changes following the loss of FIM World Championship status after the 1976 event, the Lightweight TT event was dropped with the 250 cc machines running for the Junior TT in place of the now defunct 350 cc formula. The Lightweight TT returned in 1995 before being split into two distinct events from 1999, dropping from the schedule again after 2003. As with the Ultra-Lightweight TT Race, it was reintroduced 2008–2009 when held on the Billown short road circuit; and then dropped again from the race schedule on cost grounds.
The 2019 specifications for entries into the Lightweight TT race are:
Mininium weight for the Lightweight TT class is.

Sidecar TT

The 1923 TT was the first time the Sidecar TT race was run, over three laps of the Mountain Course and was won by Freddie Dixon and passenger Walter Perry with a Douglas and special banking-sidecar at an average race speed of. For the 1926 event the Sidecar and Ultra-Lightweight TT classes were dropped due to lack of entries.
The Sidecar race was re-introduced from the 1954 event for Sidecars not exceeding 500 cc engine capacity, run on the Clypse Course. A non-championship 750 cc class for sidecars was introduced at the 1968 event. For the 1976 event the race was held over two-legs. From 1975, the previous 500 cc and 750 cc classes for Sidecars were replaced by a 1000 cc engine capacity class.


The new FIM Formula 2 class for Sidecars was introduced for the 1990 Isle of Man TT.
The 2015 specifications for entries into the Sidecar TT race are:
For the 1911 Isle of Man TT, the first TT event using the Snaefell Mountain Course or Mountain Course, two separate races were introduced. The first event was a four lap Junior TT race and a separate Senior TT race for 500 cc single-cylinder and 585 cc twin-cylinder motorcycles, over five laps of the new Snaefell Mountain Course. The new technical challenges of the Mountain Course forced changes on entrants and motorcycle manufacturers alike. The American Indian motorcycle factory fitted a two-speed gearbox and chain-drive. This proved to be the winning combination when Oliver Godfrey won the 1911 Senior TT race riding an Indian at an average speed of. Fitted with a six-speed belt drive Charlie Collier riding a Matchless motorcycle finished second in the 1911 Senior TT race and was later disqualified for illegal refuelling. During an early morning practice session for the 1911 Isle of Man TT races, Victor Surridge died after crashing his Rudge motorcycle at Glen Helen, the first death of a competitor on the Snaefell Mountain Course and the first death in the Isle of Man of a person in an automotive accident.
The 2015 specifications for entries into the Senior TT race are:
Starting from the 2010 races, the TT Zero event over one lap of the Snaefell Mountain Course replaced the TTXGP. The TT Zero event as an officially sanctioned 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 average speed around the Mountain Course. This was achieved by Michael Rutter of team MotoCzysz in the 2012 race, and has been exceeded every year since.

Discontinued race classes

Ultra-Lightweight TT

was the first time the Ultra-Lightweight TT race took place for motorcycles not exceeding 175 cc engine capacity. It was won by Jack Porter, riding a New Imperial motorcycle at an average speed of over three laps of the Snaefell mountain course. The Ultra-Lightweight class was re-introduced in 1951 for motorcycles not exceeding 125 cc until discontinued in 1974, and then re-introduced for 1989, again for two-stroke 125 cc motorcycles, until dropped again due to lack of entries after 2004. The event was reintroduced 2008–2009 held on the four-mile Billown Circuit and then dropped from the race schedule on cost grounds for the 2010 races.

Clubman TT and Production TT

The Clubman races with Lightweight, Junior and Senior classes were held for production motorcycles from 1947 until 1956. A Senior 1000 cc class provided an opportunity for Vincent motorcycles. The riders were little-known, but as the stars were barred from entering the class, it provided a stepping-stone for future-stars but resulted in less spectator-interest. The series became dominated by one model – the BSA Gold Star, and with little competition from other manufacturers, was discontinued. When previewing the impending re-introduction of a specification-controlled, roadster-based class in March 1967, David Dixon wrote: "lack of inter-make rivalry probably put the final nail in the coffin".
Writing in UK monthly magazine Motor Cyclist Illustrated'', racing journalist Ray Knight, who had achieved a lap speed of nearly 88 mph on a Triumph Tiger 100 roadster-based racing motorcycle in the Manx Grand Prix, commented in early 1965 that the ACU had refused a request from manufacturers to run a production TT race, which he thought was a missed opportunity, particularly considering the dwindling support for the 500 cc race.
A Production TT for roadster-based motorcycles having classes for maximum engine capacities of 250 cc, 500 cc and 750 cc was introduced from 1967 until 1976 when the class was discontinued.
The Production TT was reintroduced for the 1984 races in three classes, reduced to two classes on safety grounds for the 1990 races. For the 2005 races the Superstock class replaced the previous 1000 cc & 600 cc Production TT classes that had been part of the race schedule since 1989.

Practice sessions

At the TT races there is usually one week of practice and one week of racing. Historically there was an early morning practice session from 05:00–07:30 am but this was discontinued from the 2004 races. During an early morning practice at the 1927 Isle of Man TT, Archie Birkin, brother of Tim Birkin of the Bentley Boys, was killed at Rhencullen. From 1928 practice sessions for the Isle of Man TT Races and Manx Grand Prix were held on closed roads. Evening practice sessions were introduced for the 1937 Isle of Man TT and continue to this day. The Thursday afternoon practice session from 13:45–17:00, introduced in the late 1950s, was discontinued from the Centenary races in 2007.
A schedule for practice sessions is announced each year well in advance. For the 2016 races a provisional schedule was announced by mid-July 2015, and changes in the schedule were highlighted.
But for example, the 2015 event began with a Saturday evening untimed practice session from 18:00–21:30, with the public roads that comprise the Snaefell Mountain Course closed. The section of the primary A18 Snaefell Mountain Road from Ramsey Hairpin to Creg-ny-Baa was to close at 16:45 for the practice periods, 1 hour and 15 minutes before the rest of the course.
The first practice session in 2015 was to provide four controlled laps for newcomers, two for new Solo competitors and two for new Sidecar competitors. Competitors would be escorted for one lap of the Mountain Course by the Travelling Marshals at a steady pace and accompanied by experienced Isle of Man TT and/or Manx Grand Prix competitors.
The schedule for the first Saturday untimed session in 2015 was:

Practice week sessions

The main practice and timed practice sessions are usually held on Monday-Friday of the next week. The public roads forming the Mountain Course were to be closed in 2015 between 18:00 – 21:30 for the Solo and Sidecar classes. Some would-be racers need to qualify for races by achieving satisfactory practice times during these sessions.
Schedule for the five-day timed session Monday-Friday of practice week in 2015:

Race week practice sessions

Further scheduled timed practice sessions after the race periods for the 2015 Isle of Man TT Races:
Saturday 6 June:
Mad Sunday, 7 June:
No practice sessions were scheduled during "Mad Sunday", a day when many fans ride the TT course themselves. An exception to this non-scheduling was in 2013 when there was racing on the afternoon of Mad Sunday. In 2013, Inspector Derek Flint said: "Even though the benefits of the mountain being one way are in place for the entire two weeks these days, Mad Sunday is traditionally a time for that little bit of extra exuberance, which creates us problems when people run out of skill, then run out of road". Police are out in force, and in 2013 large numbers of fans were expected to ride due to very favourable weather forecasts.
Monday 8 June:
Wednesday 10 June:

Practice TT Zero

Schedule for the TT Zero Challenge timed sessions in 2015 was:
Friday 5 June 20:30 – 20:50
Saturday 6 June 17:45 – 18:30
Monday 8 June 16:00 – 16:30
In the event of inclement weather either delaying or leading to the cancellation of one or more timed practice sessions, a reserve morning session could be held with the public roads closed 06:00 – 07:30 on the Mountain Course. Further untimed practice sessions are held during race week after the racing has been completed for selected race classes.
The 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

TT course official vehicles

After the completion of a practice or race period, an official course vehicle displaying the notice Roads Open proceeds around the Mountain Course, passing each point opening the roads including side-access junctions to public use. On the Snaefell mountain road section from Ramsey to Douglas, the official vehicle displays the notice Roads Open One Way.

Crossing places during practice and races

The 1982 Road Racing Act and the supplementary TT Road Races Orders allow vehicles and pedestrians to cross the Snaefell Mountain Course at certain points between scheduled race periods under the supervision of a police officer. Several permanent pedestrian overbridges have been erected. These points include:

In Douglas

The TT Access Road runs parallel to a section of the A1 Peel Road, which is part of the Snaefell Mountain Course, and operates during practice and race periods to enable vehicles to pass from inside of the race course to the outside. It runs along a section of former railway line on the historic Douglas to Peel route, from the junction of the A5 New Castletown Road at the Quarter Bridge, passing under the course at Braddan Bridge, to an exit at Braddan School Road in Douglas outskirts, near the former Braddan Railway Halt and the A23/Ballafletcher Road junction. The access road is a narrow, single-track width with passing places and is restricted to cars and light vans below a weight limit of. When used for vehicular traffic, pedestrian access is prohibited, but at other times it is part of a system of nature trails.

Description

The Oxford Companion to World Sports and Games notes:
During race week, the TT races create a carnival atmosphere with picnicking spectators flanking vantage points on the circuit similar to other community festivals in another form of cycle racing – the Tour de Yorkshire and Le Tour de France.

Safety

Between 1907 and 2019 there have been 151 fatalities during official practices or races on the Snaefell Mountain Course, and 260 total fatalities. In 2016, 5 riders died on the course during official practices or races, bringing the total number of fatalities to 252. There were six fatalities among competitors in the 1970 Isle of Man TT, making it the deadliest year in the history of the event.

2018 Course Car incident

On 30 May 2018 an experienced TT rider, Steve Mercer, was seriously injured during a head-on collision with an official Course Car at Ballacrye. The car, being driven at high speed, was conveying police officers to officiate at the scene of a fatality involving Dan Kneen. Mercer was unconscious for five days and hospitalised for five months due to multiple injuries. He was one of seven riders who had been halted on the course and turned back by marshals, being instructed to proceed back to the TT Grandstand area in the reverse-direction after the red flag stoppage. This caused organisers to immediately change their protocols, requiring that returning riders must be controlled by motorcycle-mounted travelling marshals to the front and rear. An independent inquiry to probe the circumstances was arranged by ACU Events, the event organisers.
The Auto-Cycle Union and the Isle of Man Department for Enterprise, together with report author, lawyer Rob Jones, a former chief executive of the Motor Sports Association, all refused to release the report as it was confidential and privately owned by the ACU.
The ACU admitted liability for the accident, but instructed that any legal claim for compensation by Mercer must be filed in the Isle of Man. The ACU stated that Mercer was receiving financial assistance through its "extensive insurance arrangements".
In 2019 it was revealed that the same driver had quit after criticism that he exceeded a newly introduced speed limit recorded by a GPS Tracking device when he drove to attend a fatality involving Chris Swallow at Ballaugh in August's Senior Classic TT. Gary Thompson MBE, Clerk of the Course and an ACU employee, had been criticised in 2018 for also fulfilling the role of Safety Officer, consequently a new incumbent was in place for 2019.

Total overall race winners

RiderWins
Joey Dunlop26
John McGuinness23
Michael Dunlop19
Dave Molyneux17
Ian Hutchinson16
Mike Hailwood14
Bruce Anstey12
Steve Hislop, Phillip McCallen11
Giacomo Agostini, Robert Fisher, Ian Lougher, Stanley Woods10
Mick Boddice, Dave Saville, David Jefferies, Siegfried Schauzu9
Ben Birchall, Jim Moodie, Chas Mortimer, Phil Read, Dan Sayle, Charlie Williams8
Mick Grant, Wolfgang Kalauch, Tony Rutter7
Chas Birks, Geoff Duke, Jimmie Guthrie, Rick Long, Jim Redman, Michael Rutter, John Surtees6
Alec Bennett, Nick Crowe, Robert Dunlop, Brian Reid, Carlo Ubbiali, Peter Hickman5
Klaus Enders, Freddie Frith, Wal Handley, Trevor Ireson, Benga Johansson, Dave Leach, Chris Palmer, Ray Pickrell, Tarquinio Provini, Horst Schneider, Barry Smith, Bill Smith, Jock Taylor, John Williams,4
Ray Amm, Adrian Archibald, Graeme Crosby, Harold Daniell, Max Deubel, Ralf Engelhardt, Ryan Farquhar, Patrick Farrance, Carl Fogarty, Alex George, Tom Herron, Darren Hope, Emil Hörner, Alan Jackson, Tony Jefferies, Geoff Johnson, Klaus Klaffenböck, Rob McElnea, Bob McIntyre, Phil Mellor, Dave Morris, Clive Pollington, Walter Schneider, Ian Simpson, Rolf Steinhausen, Hans Strauss, Luigi Taveri, Don Williams, Barry Woodland Dean Harrison3
Fergus Anderson, Hugh Anderson, Manliff Barrington, Artie Bell, Geoff Bell, Lowry Burton, Kel Carruthers, Bernard Codd, Charlie Collier, Keith Cornbill, Mark Cox, Steve Cull, Pat Cushnahan, Howard R Davies, Freddie Dixon, Charlie Dodson, Cameron Donald, Iain Duffus, Karl Ellison, Bob Foster, Dick Greasley, Manfred Grunwald, Hermann Hahn, Craig Hallam, Shaun Harris, John Hartle, Pete Hill, Fritz Hillebrand, Mac Hobson, Gary Hocking, John Holden, Josef Huber, Tim Hunt, Bill Ivy, Gary Johnson, Alistair King, Con Law, Eddie Laycock, Ivan Lintin, Bill Lomas, Nick Long, Graeme McGregor, Trevor Nation, Gary Padgett, Steve Plater, Jock Porter, Nick Roche, Cecil Sandford, Dave Saville, Tom Sheard, Edwin Twemlow, Malcolm Uphill, Dave Wells, Eric Williams, Paul Williams, Andrew Winkle, Michael Wynn,2
Steve Abbott, Dario Ambrosini, Frank A Applebee, Ivor Arber, Reg Armstrong, Kenny Arthur, Stewart Atkinson, Georg Auerbacher, Mike Aylott, Mark Baldwin, Rob Barber, W. Harry Bashall, Ian Bell, Phillip Biggs, Eric Bliss, Dieter Braun, Eric Briggs, Norman Brown, Ralph Bryans, Jimmy Buchan, Trevor Burgess, Roger Burnett, Mick Burns, Florian Camathias, Maurice Cann, Neil Carpenter, Phil Carpenter, Phil Carter, Harold Clark, Rod Coleman, Harry A Collier, Stuart Collins, Syd Crabtree, Dave Croxford, J.D. Daniels, Leo Davenport, Geoff Davison, Tommy de la Hay, Ernst Degner, Walter Denny, George Douglas, Eddie Dow, Percy Evans, Helmut Fath, Jack Findlay, John Flaxman, Frank Fletcher, Rem Fowler, John Gibbard, Sid Gleave, Oliver Godfrey, Les Graham, Stuart Graham, Werner Haas, Dave Hallam, Roy Hanks, Colin Hardman, Bernard Hargreaves, Conrad Harrison, Ron Haslam, Ronnie Hazlehurst, Chris Heath, Alfred Herzig, Freddie Hicks, James Hillier, Robert Holden, Rupert Hollaus, Colin Hopper, Ken Horstman, Clive Horton, Eric Housley, Dennis Ireland, Mitsuo Itoh, Brian Jackson, Nick Jefferies, Doug Jewell, Lee Johnston, C. W. Johnston, Ken Kavanagh, Bob Keeler, Neil Kelly, Basil Keys, John Kidson, Ewald Kluge, Ray Knight, David Lashmar, Monty V. Lockwood, Frank Longman, Heinz Luthringshauser, Jack Marshall, Keith Martin, Hugh Mason, Cromie McCandless, Georg Meier, Ted Mellors, Mark Miller, Derek Minter, Brian Morrison, Les Nutt, George O'Dell, Eric Oliver, Mat Oxley, Len Parker, Philip Parker, Denis Parkinson, Graham Penny, Alex Phillip, Derek Powell, Cyril Pullin, Brian Purslow, Richard Quayle, Johnny Rea, Harry Reed, Tim Reeves, Brett Richmond, Tommy Robb, John Robinson, Mike Rogers, Nigel Rollason, Dave Roper, Gordon Russell, Fritz Scheidegger, Martyn Sharpe, Dave Simmonds, Bill Simpson, Jimmie Simpson, Cyril Taft, Omobono Tenni, Steve Tonkin, George Tucker, Kenneth Twemlow, Henry Tyrell-Smith, Chris Vincent, Terry Vinicombe, Graham Walker, Frank Whiteway, Cyril Williams, Peter Williams, Alfred Wohlgemuth, Tim Wood, Tommy Wood, Stan Woods1

FIM Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship Rounds (1949–1976)

The Isle of Man TT was part of the FIM Motor-Cycle Grand Prix World Championship between 1949 and 1976. During this period the Isle of Man TT Races counted as the United Kingdom round including the Sidecar TT, 50 cc Ultra-Lightweight TT, 125 cc Lightweight TT, 250 cc Lightweight TT, 350 cc Junior TT and 500 cc Senior TT races counted towards the FIM Motor-Cycle Grand Prix World Championship. After the 1972 races, multiple world champion and dominant motorcycle racer of his time Giacomo Agostini announced he would never race again at the Isle of Man, declaring it too dangerous for international competition and that it was outrageous that such a race should ever be part of a scenario professional riders were forced into; at this point the Isle of Man TT was not suited to the growing professionalism and business aspects of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. More and more riders joined his boycott, and after 1976 the race was stricken from the championship and replaced by the British Grand Prix.

Multiple winners (riders)

Multiple winners (manufacturers)

By year

Current lap records

Current race records

Race awards

Race winner trophies

Special awards

Other Special awards

In popular culture

"Riding in the TT Races" is a song written and sung by George Formby in the 1935 film No Limit.

Citations