The Most Dangerous Race: Isle of Man TT

The 37.7 mile course with over 200 bends rises and falls 1300 ft from the sea and is a circuit around the Snaefell mountain- famous because you can see six kingdoms from the peak- Man, Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales and Heaven!

Heaven is where 223 people have ended (hopefully) since the world's oldest motorcycle race began here in 1907. The track was chosen on this island in the geographic center of the British Isles because of its lack of a speed limit, a quirk that persists to this day. While the average speed between hills, bends, rocks, telephone polls, houses, villages and stone walls is about 130 mph, riders get to top speeds of over 200 mph on the straights. There is nothing to keep them on the narrow twisting track other than hard concrete shoulders. In 1976 the TT lost its world championship status after 27 years because it was deemed too dangerous. But the crowds never stopped coming to the TT. The cult following increased. There is something forbiddingly alluring about a race that has claimed more lives than formula 1 has in its entire history.

There are dangerous tracks around the world. The cork screw at Laguna Secca California, Spa in Belgium, Indiannapolis' banked curve, Daytona 500, Le Manns 24hrs when its night or the Tamburello corner at Imola (where Senna died). But none approach the terror or the death toll of the Isle of Man TT. Here is a video of Milky Quayle from the centenary race to give you some idea of the terrain (he survived!):