The Isle of Man: The Deadliest Race

There’s one kind of person across the world who’s guaranteed to know something about the Isle of Man: Bikers. Whenever my partner and I travel, we strike up conversations with people on motorbikes about the Island, and more often than not they’ve either visited or have a lifelong dream of visiting the Isle of Man.

If you’ve read my piece about the island’s tax haven status, you’ll recall that it’s a very empty place. The population is just 80,000...most of the time. For two weeks each year, that number jumps by 50% as over 40,000 motorbike-loving tourists flock to the island for the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy.

Known as the “TT”, the Tourist Trophy is a legendary motorcycle race which attracts competitors and spectators from around the world. It’s run as a time trial rather than a “race” (occasionally people will claim this is what TT stands for), and the entire course takes place on public roads. Average speeds top 130mph, with the fastest riders reaching over 200mph on some sections of the track. You read that right...200mph on public roads. The riders go whipping past picturesque cottages and country churches, with spectators sitting on stone walls and feeding the sheep between laps.

Imagine if this bus were a Superbike (Photo Credit @juddylovespizza)

Like this:
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(Photo Credit: http://www.iomttphotos.co.uk/photo24705138.html#.WlZ3Dyhl_rc)

There’s endless material to be read and watched about the TT. If you’re interested, I recommend scrolling through the wikipedia page or just searching “Isle of Man TT” on youtube. It’s pretty fascinating, even if you don’t think motorcycle racing is your thing.

Here are a couple of videos including a short documentary on the race, all credit to the creators of course!

When you add in the Southern 100 (a race rather than a time trial, on a shorter track) and the Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling (later in the year and featuring events like the “Classic TT” and the Manx Grand Prix), the number of tourists reaches over 200,000 annually. The Island population more than doubles each summer due primarily to motorcycle-related tourism. Boats and planes are booked up months in advance, and transport prices skyrocket. If you want to get on or off the island during TT Fortnight, you need to plan ahead!

Not everyone takes racing seriously, but EVERYONE loves bikes...

(Photo Credit: https://www.iomtt.com/Classic-TT)

In order to accomodate all these visitors, the island runs a “homestay” program. Residents pay a small fee to the government to be listed in the official registry, then host tourists in their spare bedrooms. Money made through the homestay programme is tax-free, and many families on the island make a few thousand pounds this way each year. My in-laws have a big old house which they spent years renovating, and host around six guests each year. When my partner was away at university he returned home on summer to find that his bedroom was occupied by a German biker, so he ended up sleeping on the couch for two weeks!

A bike parked in front of an ancient cottage!

(Photo Credit: Motorcycle.com)

My partner also remembers not being allowed to drive on during TT fortnight, particularly on so-called “Mad Sunday”. During this unofficial event between practice week and race week, the course is opened to the public and thousands of motorbike-mad tourists flood the roads to try their luck through the infamous twists and turns of the Snaefell Mountain Course....

If you’ve got a taste for the terrifying, give “TT crash” a search. It’s the world’s deadliest motorsport event, with over 250 fatalities in its 110 years of existence. Spectators and even a couple of sheep have died when bikes fly off the road. The consensus on the island is that the riders “died doing what they loved” and “they knew what they were getting into,” a perspective generally shared by the friends and family of those who’ve lost their lives (or nearly done so).

Here’s a compilation with just a few of the most dramatic incidents from the past few years:

Over the past 100 years, motorbike racing has become an integral part of the island’s identity. The money and international attention these events bring is more than welcome, but many on the island love the event purely for the excitement and challenge it offers in and of itself. Whatever you think of the TT, it’s an inescapable part of life on this island!

For those who want to know more, feel free to check out the links below:
Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling
Isle of Man TT Official
The Southern 100

I’ve barely scratched the surface of the TT and motorbike culture on the Isle of Man. Hopefully this sparks your interest and broadens your understanding of the strange little island I call home!

Have you ever watched or wanted to watch the TT? Have a crazy biking story of your own? Think we should ban it? Let me know in the comments!

Check out my blog for previous posts about the Isle of Man, featuring Tax Havens, Weird Animals and more! And coming up, read all about celtic gods, viking legends, lifeboat societies and more in my Isle of Man Introduction series!

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