100th anniversary of the Isle of Man TT
(Page 3 of 6)
November/December 2007
Story and photos by Jason Roberts
The course
Although the first motorcycle races were held in 1907, in 1911 the founders of the TT started running on the Mountain Course, which is pretty much unchanged today. One notable difference is that until about the 1920s, racers had to stop to open cattle gates and close them as they carried on. Try that at Laguna Seca! And while this year marks the centenary of the TT, the race has actually been cancelled several times during the last century, for two world wars and most recently in 2001 due to the hoof and mouth disease scare.
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Where closed-course race circuits have gravel traps, air walls and lots of run-offs in the curves, the TT has rough stone walls, curbs, lampposts, trees and numerous other hard things to smash into. The road is uneven asphalt, with manhole covers, crowns and blind corners with slippery off-camber surfaces. You’ll see a few small DIY-like pads strapped to poles and trees along the way, and the sharper bends have hay bales lining their outsides, but that’s about the extent of “safety” devices used at the TT.
“This place is nuts!” former world champ racer Kevin Schwantz, in attendance for the event, told the Brit motorcycle press. “The most striking thing for me from what I have seen is how little concern there is for safety. It’s more than just the speed that blows my mind. To comprehend what these [racers] are able to do takes a complete readjustment of my understanding. There is just no room for mistakes in any way.”
Racers must memorize all of the hazards if they are to survive, let alone finish, this deadly race. And it truly is the most lethal road course on the planet; since 1907 there have been more than 200 fatalities in the TT. (Sadly, that record was updated this year, with yet another racer’s death on the very last lap of the last race. Two spectators also perished in that accident.)
Still thinking about racing in the TT? You’ll need to ride the 37.73 mile length at speeds up to 190mph without crashing, and your average better be well over 100mph to put you in the ballpark with the competition. Repeat that again … and again ... FIVE more times, for a total of 226.38 miles of twisted, tortured tarmac. Oh, and watch out for the island’s sheep, dogs and other domestic animals crossing the roads. If you don’t wipe out, you still have to worry about running out of gas, because then you’ll have to pit, which could cost you precious seconds. No wonder it takes riders years just to learn the course.
And winning won’t earn you any points towards any other race series on the planet, as the TT stands alone in the world of moto-racing. Those who run the TT are there to compete against the clock and the course, not Rossi and Bostrom.
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