Early Man
It began as a legal expedient. Now the Isle of Man is forever associated with the Tourist Trophy races. These eloquent pictures bring a flavour of just how tough those pre -WWII events were
June 19, 1936
A packed house at the Keppel Hotel in Creg-ny-Baa for the Senior Tourist Trophy. Eager crowds crane for a view of Stanley Woods on his Velocette heading for a new lap record of 87mph and a close secondplace finish just 18sec behind Jimmie Guthrie
GETTY IMAGES
June 16, 1926
Above: a competitor manoeuvres his machine into place in front of the starter ready to be flagged off for his first lap. Behind, more riders wait for their start times. On the complex scoreboard, the ‘Progress’ line shows each rider’s approximate position on the circuit
June 9, 1932
Right: situated just a mile after the start, Quarterbridge remains the riders’ first big challenge, especially on cold tyres on the first lap. Today it is unrecognisable from this 90-year-old shot, having been radically reprofiled and including two roundabouts on non-race days