Each has its own cc range and cylinder specifications. The death-defying tournament includes several racing classes competing in a time-trial format: Superbike, Supersport, Superstock, Lightweight, Sidecar, Senior and Zero. The 38-mile Snaefell Mountain Course, an open public road of twists and rises, meanders through fields and villages and is the world’s oldest motorcycle racing circuit. The Isle of Man has been home to two-wheel racing since the early 20th century when the rest of the UK kept motorized speed limits to 20 mph. In continental Europe, the 24 Hours Le Mans endurance competition claimed 22 lives, not including 83 spectators who were wiped out in 1955 when burning debris from a car crash was flung into the crowd. The Daytona International Speedway saw 23 car racers killed since the track opened in 1959. Over a similar period of time, four-wheel racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway witnessed the deaths of 55 drivers and their riding mechanics. That number does not include officials and spectators who were killed during accidents. Add the amateur Manx Grand Prix which is run later in the summer on the same circuit and the fatality figure climbs to 258, or an average of 2.4 per year.
Since 1911, the treacherous Snaefell Mountain Course on Britain’s Isle of Man has sent 149 professional riders off their bikes and into coffins. Nobody knows that better than the daredevil riders at the annual Tourist Trophy Races (TT), the oldest and most prestigious motorcycle chase on the planet. In the world of motorsport racing, pushing the boundaries of speed and chance means edging closer to death.
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