Hopefully, for once, a change of front from four to two and three wheels is permitted. Because the "Tourist Trophy", which is still held on the Isle of Man to this day, is so well established that it also has its place on "Zwischengas". What's more, the TT has an almost infinitely long history, having been held for the first time on May 28, 1907 and celebrating its 110th anniversary in 2017.
Reaction of defiance
The race originated as a defiant reaction to the ban on road racing on the British Isles. As an independent island that was not part of the United Kingdom, but had a special status as an autonomous Crown Estate, the Isle of Man was able to evade this ban.
The entry regulations for the first race in 1907 were very simple: no limit on engine capacity and weight, only the fuel consumption per 100 km was regulated at 3.1 liters for single-cylinder and 3.8 liters for twin-cylinder machines. A tool kit and pedals to support the engine were also required. However, these were banned again in 1908. 25 riders took part in the first race. Today's 60 km "Snaefall Mountain Course" was then used for the first time in 1911.
Faster and faster
In 1931, the average speed exceeded 80 miles (129 km/h) for the first time. In 2017, Michael Dunlop drove an average of 132.903 mph (213.8866 km/h). This fell short of his lap record from 2016, when he completed the 60 km in 16:53.959 min with an average of 133.962 mph (216 km/h). And that was on ordinary country roads!
For comparison: On May 28, 1983, the unforgettable Stefan Bellof stamped a time of 6:11.13 minutes into the asphalt of the Nordschleife in the final training session with the Porsche 956. This was the fastest lap ever driven in the Green Hell and never again has a driver conquered the 20.832 km long track at an average speed of over 200 km/h.
These figures are comparable, but the road circuit on the Isle of Man is clearly more dangerous than the Nordschleife.
This deterred even established racing drivers from taking part. In 1972, Giacomo Agostini boycotted the race after the fatal accident of Gilberto Parlotti, who was leading the 125cc class. This boycott was joined by the top riders of the time Phil Read, Barry Sheene and Rodney Gould. As a result, the FIM removed the TT from the Road World Championship rankings at the end of 1976.
Anachronism
Today, this race is considered the oldest, most dangerous and also most controversial motorcycle race in the world. It is certainly the last event in the entire motorsport scene that, despite ever faster motorcycles, still takes place on exactly the same 60 km route as it did almost 100 years ago.
It's a ride on the cannonball and death lurks on every centimeter. The main race lasts six laps. That's a distance of 360 km, which is covered in less than two hours. Absolute concentration is essential for survival, and the drivers repeatedly accelerate to well over 300 km/h through urban canyons and tree-lined avenues. Siegfried Schauzu, the most successful German participant and multiple sidecar winner, says: "Missing the ideal line by 10 cm can mean the road to the afterlife." It is almost impossible to remember every bend and every braking point.
In 2017, there were three fatalities in just 20 hours and as a fan, you hardly noticed a thing. Hardly any news, neither on the official website nor in the daily newspapers, reported on the bikers' heroic deaths. It all seems unreal and numb.
How can a race like this still be held? In 2017, there was again an absolute record number of registrations in all categories, which of course encouraged the organizers to continue: "If no one wants to ride anymore, then there will be no more TT, but as long as we have participants, we will continue in the same way!"
Today, this race can probably only be compared to extreme mountaineering. The dream of every mountaineer is to climb at least one of the world's fourteen eight-thousanders, preferably without oxygen, of course. In the same way, many extreme motorcyclists would like to win the TT one day, or at least have taken part in it.
On Mount Everest, the distance from base camp to the summit is 3850 meters. On the Sneafell Mountain Course, the distance is 37.733 miles or 60.725 kilometers. 216 climbers have ended their lives on Mount Everest since the first ascent in 1953. The TT has recorded 255 deaths since 1907. This year, three racers, Davey Lambert, Jochem van den Hoek and Alan Bonner, left their suitcases in their hotel rooms. Davey Lambert's family said: "He left the world exactly as he would have wanted to - doing what he loved."
The Austrian Horst Saiger put it in a nutshell: "Anyone who has ridden here once in their life, for them everything else, including every other race, is just a gimmick."
And Valentino Rossi says: "I did one lap on the Isle of Man and I immediately realized why people love it so much, because it's "fucking unique". It's incredible, fantastic. But also way too dangerous. Sometimes the motorcyclists are a bit crazy."
If the Targa Florio still took place today as it did in the seventies, there would be something comparable to it in motor racing. But just imagine the Porsche 919 Hybrid, Toyota TS050 or even the Ferrari or Aston Martin GT racing cars racing along the narrow Sicilian racetrack at speeds of over 300 km/h, with minimal safety precautions ... Unthinkable!
From the spectator's perspective
Of course, spectators begin to ask themselves what the real attraction of this race is. It is the very last unadorned race in the world and has similarities with the chariot races in ancient Rome. Only the winner survived in the end. It's not quite that bad on the Isle of Man after all, but you do start to believe the "brain box". The "brain box" is the small ice-cold wooden box in which every driver deposits their brain shortly before the start. Because after the start, the tunnel vision must be able to immediately block out everything to the right and left of the track.
Saiger: "At first, when you're hurtling down there at 300 km/h, it's unnatural. Somehow it goes against your own survival instinct. But then the other instinct kicks in: I want to be faster. And then ... Of course, the survival instinct and the will to win always fight each other a little. But you have to be careful, because if you try to force something on this track, it will strike back. Inevitably and relentlessly!"
In a state of emergency
For two weeks, the small island between England and Ireland is in an absolute state of emergency. Not even the pets are allowed to leave the houses during this time. "Schnurrli" and "Bello" have to stay inside, crossing the road would be too dangerous. It would be fatal for the four-legged friend, but also for the motorcyclist.
The spectacle lasts two full weeks with the training and qualifying sessions, as well as the race days at the end.
Not only locals at the front
There was even a "small" Swiss one-two victory in the sidecar category. The pairing of Ben and Tom Birchall and runners-up John Holden and Lee Cain each rode an LCR Honda built by Louis Christen.
The last real Swiss victories came in 1963, when Florian Camathias won the sidecar race with Alfred Herzig on a BMW, and in 1966, when Fritz Scheidegger and Briton John Robinson also won on a BMW. Klaus Klaffenböck was the best Austrian with three victories and the most successful German driver was Siegfried Schauzu, who won the sidecar class a total of eight times, always in a BMW. Schorch Meier and Helmut Dähne also left their mark on the TT.
In the Senior TT, the main race of the event, Michael Dunlop took his 15th win on a Suzuki GSX-R 1000 and is now ahead of Mike Hailwood (14 wins). However, he is still far behind the 26 victories that Joey Dunlop has celebrated.
Peter Hickman took second place in the Senior TT on a BMW and Dean Harrison came third on a Kawasaki.
The race had to be stopped on the second of six laps because Ian Hutchinson, who had already won the Superbike and Superstock races on a BMW, crashed while leading the field and suffered a fractured femur.
After a good hour and a half, the race was restarted for the remaining 4 laps. Luckily for the Austrian Horst Saiger, who crashed in the "Gooseneck" on the first lap and slightly damaged his bike. He was able to ride back to the pits, where the bike was repaired during the interruption and he was back at the restart, finishing the race in a good 18th place.
Safety secondary
As a spectator, it is hard to understand how this event has survived for so long. Everywhere else, safety is all that is preached, contact with the enemy is immediately penalized in motor racing and spectators are kept far away from the spectacle.
Then you come to this island and everything is like it was back then. As a spectator, you are practically sitting on the kerbs, trees adorn the edge of the track, the white paint of the traffic routing sticks to the asphalt, duels at 300 km/h are fought over long distances and shoulder to shoulder. Motorcycles fly through the air by the meter, something that cars have not been allowed to do for a long time, except on the Nordschleife. And nobody talks about safety, even when there are accidents. Presumably both extremes are totally exaggerated and we should somehow find the golden mean again.
Horst Saiger: I would never tell anyone not to ride here. But I can tell everyone: If they haven't ridden here, then they have missed out on the best thing you can do with a motorcycle in racing."
This also applies to every motorsport enthusiast: you simply have to see it with your own eyes!
The NDR video "Mythos TT" from the TT 2016 provides an impression .
