As a motoring enthusiast for most of my life, as well as a motoring journalist and car public relations man, I have been fortunate in being able to tick many things off my motoring “bucket list”.

I have attended many Formula 1 Grands Prix, the Le Mans 24-hour race, Moto GP and World Superbike meetings, IndyCar race and IMSA sports car race etc… But there was one place still not accounted for: a visit to the Isle of Man to watch the famous Tourist Trophy (TT) races.

The Isle of Man, a tiny island which lies in the middle of the Irish Sea between Scotland and Ireland, is far better known for the mystique of its annual TT motorcycle races than for its tailless Manx cats or its rich and famous inhabitants such as Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson, Formula 1 champion Nigel Mansell, SA-born Mark Shuttleworth and a host of champion racing motorcyclists and cyclists.

The island, which is only 50km long and 20km wide, has a permanent population of just over 80 000 but plays host to more than 35 000 visitors during the two-week period when practice and racing takes place on the famous – and very treacherous – 60.3km Mountain Circuit.

The death toll at the annual TT races rose by another three last year to 234 in 100 years. The first TT race on the Isle of Man took place in 1907 over the 25km St John’s course, but in 1911 racing was switched to the far more demanding Mountain Course, which celebrated its centenary this year.

The famous TT races were taken off the motorcycle world championship calendar in 1977 as being too dangerous. Since being taken off the world championship stage, the Department of Tourism on the Isle of Man has taken over the event, which is now billed as the Isle of Man Festival TT races and is staged over the traditional two-week period in mid-summer as a standalone race meeting.

Not only does it continue to attract oversubscribed entry lists and hordes of motorcycling enthusiasts as visitors, but many of the latter group bring their own motorcycles with them. During last year’s festival it was estimated that more than 10 000 motorcycles had been brought to the island.

Many of the riders are Irish, although the bulk is from the UK and there is a sprinkling of foreigners too. Last year there was one competitor from SA with others from Australia, New Zealand, the US, Germany, Portugal, Czech Republic, Argentina, France, Hungary, Switzerland, Japan, Austria and Poland.

The public roads used for racing on the Isle of Man are too narrow for a mass start – not even for motorcycles – so the famous TT races have always been run as time trials against the clock.

However, the nature of the racing certainly does not diminish the courage and skill required to handle a very powerful motorcycle or sidecar combination on narrow roads twisting sinuously between buildings situated on the edge of the road and alongside many kilometres of stone walls. Not to mention the poles, power boxes and trees! Admittedly some of these objects – particularly those owned by the local authorities – are given a measure of protection with bags filled with shock-absorbing foam material.

Over the years, changes have been made to some of the corners, but few of them have a run-off area such as one finds on most modern race tracks.

Being the centenary of the Mountain Course, it seemed the ideal time to make the pilgrimage, so my wife, Meg, and I booked for a four-night stay during race week.

The Isle of Man is a gem of a place and certainly offers much more than the most daunting motor racing circuit in the world.

It has a wonderful heritage, having been inhabited since 6500BC. It began to be influenced by Gaelic culture in the 5th century AD, and the Manx language, a branch of the Gaelic languages, gradually emerged. The Norse began to settle there in the 9th century.

A Norse-Gaelic culture arose and the island came under Norse control, with the island becoming part of Scotland In 1266.

After a period of alternating rule by the kings of Scotland and England, the island came under the feudal overlordship of the English Crown in 1399. The lordship revested into the British Crown in 1764, but the island never became part of the United Kingdom. It is a part of the British Isles, still retaining its status as an internally self-governing jurisdiction, with the UK looking after its foreign relations and defence. It is well known as a so-called “tax haven”.

This is not only a beautiful island with lovely seascapes and lush vegetation, but it offers many novel attractions such as a historic steam railway (dating back to 1896), a narrow-gauge electric railway as well as the only electric mountain railway in the British Isles.

There is also a horse-drawn tram service on the Douglas Promenade, the biggest working waterwheel in the world, scuba diving, a watersports centre, charter boats for whale watching, fishing or sightseeing, as well as several museums and a host of castles and historic buildings.

Nature lovers are well catered for with a wide variety of hiking trails, beautiful beaches, horse riding, a national park, botanical gardens, a wild life park, a “rest home” for old horses (including those that pulled the Douglas trams) and a cat sanctuary.

There are many restaurants on the island offering a wide range of good quality local food. The Isle of Man is home to the smoky Manx kipper and the sweet and succulentlocally caught Queen Scallop (also known as the Manx Queenie), so a trip to the island would not be complete without sampling these local delicacies – whether at a top restaurant or direct from their traditional suppliers.

We made all our travel arrangements ourselves, using the internet, but one word of warning: book accommodation early as it is in fairly short supply, particularly in peak holiday times or when there are major events, such as the TT races.

We flew with FlyBe airline to the Donaldsway Airport from Bristol and returned to the British mainland by the same route. We hired a car from Logan UK for our five days in the Isle of Man.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was certainly far removed from the vibe around a world championship motorcycle race meeting.

I think the big difference is the fact that so many visitors bring their own motorcycles with them and the big attraction for them is being on the island during this period of adrenalin-charged racing on probably the most dangerous circuit in the world.

Black is certainly the “in” colour for the visitors, most of whom spend the time in racing leathers or riding kit. Tattoos and piercings are common.

The choice of wheels is usually a Japanese high performance machine, with a sprinkling of European bikes and Harley-Davidsons.

All are well-maintained and roadworthy, with rear number plates and only a few raucous exhaust systems.

There are still pretty big groups of spectators spread around the 60km circuit when the races are on, but not the huge crowds I had expected.

The highlight for many of the visitors is when the roads used for racing are opened to the public and they can get out there and enjoy the challenge of these marvellous roads.

Here, again, the riders were generally well disciplined and did not seem to be speeding much above the 80km/h general speed limit. We also saw no violence or drunkenness during the five days we stayed in Douglas.

What is noteworthy is the fact that there were few young bikers. Possibly the fact that the visiting riders are older means they are more responsible, but never once did we fear that a motorcycle would crash into us, even when we were driving our hire car around the circuit when the roads were open. - Saturday Star

l www.gov.im/tourism, and www.isleofman.com

www.iomtt.com

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