Isle of Man - Tourist Trophy

Yet another legal peculiarity of the island, that of the maximum speed allowed on its public roads, something which has long been restricted in England, has led to the Isle of Man becoming a competition ground for the sport of motorcycle racing. The Tourist Trophy, which the Marquis de Mouzilly St Mars presented over 80 years ago as the prize for a touring motorcycle race, has made the island well-known all over the world.

The circuit used by the race, which is run every year at the end of May and beginning of June, is in the north of the island and begins and ends at Douglas, the capital, taking in on the way Crosby, St John's, Kirk Michael, Ramsey and the highest point on the island, Snaefell (2036ft/621m) -- a total distance of almost 37 miles/60km. At the almost incredible average speed of 115 mph/185km/h the heavy machines thunder along narrow country lanes, steep downward plunges and sharp curves, the surfaces having treacherous and, as the last few years have repeatedly shown, literally murderous bumps. In spite of the fact that every year the race takes its toll of human lives, and even stars like "Mike the Bike", the popular English racing cyclist Mike Hailwood, have warned publicly about the dangers of the route, the trophy does not seem to have lost any of its fascination for the fans of motorcycle racing. One of the famous Manx riders of recent years is PhilHogg, who at the end of the 1980s completed the circuit in the fastest time yet achieved of just under 18 minutes.