“If you get it wrong, it’s gonna kill you” Guy Martin said when he was still racing at the TT. “I’m not a fatalist or anything, but that’s what I like about it. If it was safe, I wouldn’t do it. It’s that simple.”
Some 265 people have died on the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course since the first TT was held in 1907. Countless others have lost their lives in races like the Ulster Grand Prix, the North West 200, and at places like Oliver’s Mount in Scarborough. And yet, entries for these events are still oversubscribed every year, so why do so many riders so willingly take on the challenge of racing on the roads when there are much safer ways to race?
Short circuits like Donington Park and Silverstone have huge run-off areas, gravel traps, air-fencing, medical centres, and so many other safety features that fatalities are, thankfully, now a rarity. They do still happen, but nowhere near as often as they do on road circuits.
By contrast, road racers compete on closed-off, everyday public roads, surrounded by stone walls, houses, trees, lamp posts, and every other kind of roadside furniture imaginable. They race flat-out over cat’s eyes, over-banding, drain covers, bumps and jumps, all of which add to the dangers.
These hazards don’t encourage road racers to slow down and take it steady. Not a bit of it. They’re perfectly happy to ride Superbikes at speeds of over 200mph amongst all the hazards. Over the 37.73-mile TT course,
