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Reactions of spectators from this extraordinary event need no words.
https://youtu.be/6P5fOKCG31g
For those not familiar the Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland. The Isle of Man Tourist Trophy (TT) races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man around May June having been held most years since the inaugural races in early 1900s. The event is regarded as one of the most dangerous racing events in the world.
Motor racing began on the Isle of Man in 1904 with the Gordon Bennett Eliminating Trial for touring automobiles. Around that time there were legal speed restrictions of 20 mph on automobiles in the UK so the Secretary of the Automobile Car Club of Britain and Ireland ( later it became the Royal Automobile Club) approached the authorities in the Isle of Man and gained permission to race automobiles on the island's public roads. Soon thereafter a motorcycle race was proposed by the Editor of The Motor Cycle magazine at the Auto-Cycle Club annual dinner held in London January 1907. The first motorcycle TT race was held late May 1907. It was organised by the Auto-Cycle Club. From those small beginnings initially building upon the (Royal) Automobile Club’s inspired idea to use the self-governing dependency’s public roads as a tourist trophy race circuit (with only the two world war years and a couple of other years being missed over the century for foot and mouth disease and more recently human pandemics) the IoM TT event grew into an extraordinary motorcycle racing spectacle.
Sadly so many fearless and talented participants lost their lives during this year’s event even by the brutal standards of this notoriously dangerous event this week has seen a terrible toll.
Steve
https://youtu.be/6P5fOKCG31g
For those not familiar the Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland. The Isle of Man Tourist Trophy (TT) races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man around May June having been held most years since the inaugural races in early 1900s. The event is regarded as one of the most dangerous racing events in the world.
Motor racing began on the Isle of Man in 1904 with the Gordon Bennett Eliminating Trial for touring automobiles. Around that time there were legal speed restrictions of 20 mph on automobiles in the UK so the Secretary of the Automobile Car Club of Britain and Ireland ( later it became the Royal Automobile Club) approached the authorities in the Isle of Man and gained permission to race automobiles on the island's public roads. Soon thereafter a motorcycle race was proposed by the Editor of The Motor Cycle magazine at the Auto-Cycle Club annual dinner held in London January 1907. The first motorcycle TT race was held late May 1907. It was organised by the Auto-Cycle Club. From those small beginnings initially building upon the (Royal) Automobile Club’s inspired idea to use the self-governing dependency’s public roads as a tourist trophy race circuit (with only the two world war years and a couple of other years being missed over the century for foot and mouth disease and more recently human pandemics) the IoM TT event grew into an extraordinary motorcycle racing spectacle.
Sadly so many fearless and talented participants lost their lives during this year’s event even by the brutal standards of this notoriously dangerous event this week has seen a terrible toll.
Steve
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