In this article
Origins and Early Road Regulations
Racing on British public highways was impossible because an Act of Parliament forbade it. Seeking a location that would permit competition, Sir Julian Orde, Secretary of the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland, travelled to the Isle of Man in February 1904. He anticipated that Manx authorities would hold a conciliatory attitude toward motor racing on public roads.
The Manx legislature passed the Highways (Light Locomotive) Act 1904. This statute approved the 52.15-mile Highlands course for the 1905 Gordon Bennett Car Trial. In 1906, organizers introduced a motorcycle event held the day after the car trial. However, the machines could not conquer the steep mountain ascents, prompting officials to redirect the course.
On 17 January 1907, the editor of The Motor-Cycle Magazine formally proposed a standalone motorcycle event at the Auto-Cycle Club annual dinner in London. Organizers structured two classes to highlight the road touring character of the machines, mandating an average of 90 mpg for single-cylinder entries and 75mpg for twin-cylinder bikes. Rules also governed exhaust silencers, mudguards, pedals, and saddles.
The Move to the Snaefell Mountain Course
The inaugural 1907 race took place on the 15.85-mile St Johns Course. Charles Collier won the single-cylinder category riding a Matchless machine, while Rem Fowler secured victory in the twin-cylinder class on a Norton. In 1911, the event transferred to the Snaefell Mountain Course, which forms the basis of the modern circuit.
During the early era, the mountain route was little more than a horse and cart path punctuated by farm gates. The first rider departing each morning had to open every gate along the road, while the final competitor closed them. In 1920, the recorded lap record stood at 55.62 mph.
Road surfacing progressed during the 1920s, allowing speeds to increase steadily. Harold Daniell raised the lap record to exactly 91.00 mph while winning the 1938 Senior TT before competition ceased for eight years due to World War Two. When racing resumed in 1947, lower-grade fuel reduced pace, and Daniell won the Senior TT with a best lap of 84.07 mph.
The World Championship Era
In 1949, the Isle of Man TT hosted the first round of the newly founded Motorcycle World Championships. This status attracted international riders throughout the 1950s. Italian marques Mondial, MV Agusta, and Gilera joined the paddock alongside competitors such as Carlo Ubbiali, Tarquinio Provini, Geoff Duke, and Bob McIntyre, while Bill Lomas and Ken Kavanagh represented Moto Guzzi.
Duke recorded a lap speed of 99.97 mph in 1955. Two years later, in 1957, McIntyre became the first competitor to achieve a 100 mph lap on the Mountain Course. Japanese manufacturers entered during this era, beginning with Honda in 1959, followed subsequently by Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha. John Surtees, Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini, Phil Read, and Jim Redman fought prominent contests across these seasons.
Hailwood, Agostini, and the Transition to Formula One
Mike Hailwood claimed his first TT victory in 1961, taking three race wins in one week across the 125cc and 250cc classes on Honda bikes and the Senior on a Norton. He later captured five successive Senior titles. Giacomo Agostini secured ten victories between 1966 and 1972, competing closely against Hailwood in the 1967 Senior TT.
Hailwood established an outright lap record of 108.77 mph during that 1967 contest, which remained unbeaten for eight years. In 1975, Mick Grant broke that milestone by recording 109.82 mph on a two-stroke triple Kawasaki. World Championship status concluded after the 1976 event, bringing the debut of Joey Dunlop.
Joey Dunlop captured his initial victory in the 1977 Jubilee race, beginning an eventual tally of 26 TT wins. That season, Dick Greasley and Mick Skeels set the first 100 mph sidecar lap at 100.59 mph on a Yamaha. American racer Pat Hennen achieved the first sub-twenty-minute lap in 1978 riding a 500 Suzuki.
Hailwood returned after an eleven-year absence to win the 1978 Formula One race, taking his final TT victory in the 1979 Senior TT.
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The Joey Dunlop Era and the 120 mph Barrier
Joey Dunlop registered the first lap exceeding 115 mph in 1980. From 1983 onward, he secured six consecutive Formula One TT victories riding Honda machinery. Dunlop could not contest the 1989 edition following injuries sustained at Brands Hatch, allowing Steve Hislop to win and post the first lap over 120 mph at 121.34 mph.
In the 1992 Senior TT, Hislop defeated Carl Fogarty by four seconds in a contest where both riders broke the lap record. Hislop gave Norton its first Senior win since 1961. That year, Dunlop equalled Hailwood with 14 wins by taking the Ultra Lightweight race on a 125 Honda.
Dunlop and David Jefferies each collected hat-tricks in 2000. Dunlop claimed his 26th and final TT win in the Ultra Lightweight at age 48 before dying later that year in an Estonian road race. The 2001 races were cancelled due to mainland UK foot-and-mouth disease concerns. John McGuinness then achieved a 2004 hat-trick, setting a 129.451 mph lap record in 2006 for his 11th TT victory.
Centenary Races and the 130 mph Mark
John McGuinness won the Superbike race and Senior TT at the 2007 Centenary meeting, setting a lap record of 130.354 mph to collect 13 TT titles. In 2008, he equalled Mike Hailwood’s record of 14 titles by taking the Senior TT, while Cameron Donald secured both the Superbike and Superstock races.
In 2009, McGuinness went second in overall TT victories behind Joey Dunlop after winning the Superbike race. Ian Hutchinson took two wins in one day, while Michael Dunlop won the second Supersport race. Dave Molyneux took his 14th sidecar win, Steve Plater won the Senior TT, and Rob Barber won the inaugural TTXGP electric race on a Team Agni machine at 87.434 mph.
Ian Hutchinson established an unprecedented record during the 2010 event by winning all five solo races while competing for Padgetts Honda. This clean sweep of every solo contest had never been accomplished in the event's 103-year history, exceeding the previous record of four wins set by Philip McCallen in 1996.
Technological Benchmarks and Rising Speeds
The Mountain Course marked its centenary in 2011, where McGuinness took the Superbike and Senior TT races. Bruce Anstey won Supersport 1, Michael Dunlop won the Superstock, Gary Johnson claimed Supersport 2, Klaus Klaffenbock took his third sidecar win, and John Holden became the oldest winner in TT history.
Although the Senior TT was cancelled for the first time in event history in 2012, McGuinness still added to his titles with Superbike and Superstock race wins. Michael Rutter produced the first 100 mph electric lap in the TT Zero on a MotoCzysz. In 2013, Michael Dunlop won four of five races, while McGuinness raised the lap record to 131.678 mph before taking the Senior TT.
Michael Dunlop switched to a factory-supported BMW in 2014, taking three victories in the Superbike, Superstock, and Senior TT. Bruce Anstey raised the outright lap record to 132.298 mph in the opening Superbike race, Peter Hickman set a newcomer record of 129.104 mph, and McGuinness won the TT Zero with a record of 117.366 mph.
Modern Era Lap Records and Rivalries
In 2015, McGuinness won the TT Zero on a Mugen Shinden and collected his 23rd race win in the Senior TT with an outright lap record of 132.701 mph. Ian Hutchinson returned from his 2010 Silverstone injury to take three wins across Superstock and Supersport. Bruce Anstey won his first Mountain Course Superbike race, and Ivan Lintin achieved his debut victory in the Lightweight TT.
Michael Dunlop set the first sub-17-minute lap at 133.369 mph in the 2016 Superbike race and elevated the lap record to 133.962 mph in the Senior TT. Hutchinson secured another hat-trick across Superstock and Supersport. In 2017, Hutchinson took the Superbike and Superstock races, while Dunlop won the Senior TT and the only Supersport contest after bad weather cancelled the second race.
Dunlop earned three victories in 2018 across Superbike, Lightweight, and the first Supersport race, while Dean Harrison won the second Supersport race. Peter Hickman collected his maiden win in the Superstock race, before overtaking Harrison on the final lap of the Senior TT to establish an outright lap record of 135.452 mph.
Sources: History | Isle of Man TT Races©.
