The Isle of Man, located between Great Britain and Ireland in the Irish Sea and a member of one of six Celtic Nations, which has an estimated population of 80,000 for a land area that covers about 572 square kilometres; a far cry to Singapore’s 710 square kilometres to which almost 5 million Singaporeans call home. None-the-less, the Isle of Man is home to the most exhilarating and dangerous sport in the world – the Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy).
It is here that many come looking for glory with their high-powered 2-wheeled machines, and sometimes it is here that some do not see the sun rising to mark a new day. The Isle of Man has been admitted by many, if not by all, to be the most treacherous course without any run-off areas, being a road course and all with riders having to bear with continuously changing weather conditions of rain, fog and high winds.
The Isle of Man TT Race is basically run much like our TIMETOATTACK event, but rather than being limited to a course layout of 5.5km at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), the Isle of Man’s is about 60km long; lined by curbs, lamp posts, houses and trees, with the course effectively running through towns and villages before heading up in the mountains that rise up to an altitude of 430m located in the middle of the island and back down again to the start/finish line for a single lap. The distance is roughly the same as heading to SIC from our very own city centre of Kuala Lumpur in a straight line.
In this case, riders will need to complete 6 laps for a total of 360km, while stopping 2 to 3 times for fuel and a fresh set of tyres. It is at that point that many get to breathe a sigh of relief, especially for the rider’s team mates and family members who instantly think of the worst if their rider seem to be taking unusually long to complete a single lap, not just a simple over-reaction as many would think, but rather out of pure fear.
The Isle of Man has effectively claimed the lives of over 150 riders since it began in 1949 and while everything looks cool and riders revered for their abilities, it may simply be the calm before the storm as riders compete for a one of 70 places, while riders obsess over tyres, brakes, gear ratios and suspension set-ups over the next few days.
If you’re not yet convinced about the lethality of the Isle of Man TT, just to put it into perspective, over the course of the last 20 years, this year’s event has only been the third time that’s gone by without a single fatality, as Simon McGregor-Wood puts it.
