Senior TT
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| Date | 24 May – 6 June 2014 | ||||||||||||
| Location | Douglas, Isle of Man | ||||||||||||
| Course |
Road Course 37.733 mi (60.725 km) | ||||||||||||
| Senior TT | |||||||||||||
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Senior Tourist Trophy is a motorcycle road race that takes place during the Isle of Man TT festival; an annual event at the end of May and beginning of June. The Senior TT is the Blue Riband event of the festival and takes place on the Friday of race week. The Marquis de Mouzilly St. Mars trophy is now presented annually to the winner of the Senior TT race. The event was part of the FIM Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship during the period 1949–1976 before being transferred to the United Kingdom after safety concerns and run by the FIM as the British Grand Prix for the 1977 season.[1]
Until 2012 the Senior TT had never been cancelled except during the two World Wars and the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001. However, during the 2012 TT Races, inclement weather on the day prior to its traditional Friday race day – 8 June, the decision was taken to postpone racing until the following day – Saturday, 9 June. Consequently a course inspection was made, and following a meeting between riders and officials, the decision was made to cancel the running of the Senior race on the grounds of safety.[2]
Engine capacity
The 1911 Isle of Man TT was the first time the Senior TT race took place and was open to 500 cc single-cylinder and 585 cc twin-cylinder motorcycles. It was won by Oliver Godfrey, riding an Indian, at an average speed of 47.63 mph for the 5 laps of the Snaefell Mountain Course that was in use for the first time that year. The 1912 event was the first to limit the Senior TT to only 500 cc machines and this engine capacity prevailed until 1984.
The engine capacity has been modified from the usual (up to) 500 cc and is now (up to) 1,000 cc, though 1,000 cc machines were permitted in 1985 and 1986, 1,300 cc in 1987, 1988 and 1989, and 750 cc in 1990–1998.
Eligibility
Entrants
- Entrants must be in possession of a valid National Entrants or FIM Sponsors Licence for Road Racing.
Machines
The 2012 specification for entries into the Senior TT race are defined as;-
- Any machine complying with the following specifications:
- TT Superbike: (Machines complying with the 2012 FIM Superbike and Supersport Championships specifications)
- (Over 750cc up to 1000cc 4 cylinders 4-stroke)
- (Over 750cc up to 1000cc 3 cylinders 4-stroke)
- (Over 850cc up to 1200cc 2 cylinders 4-stroke)[3]
- Supersport Junior TT (without limitation of tyre choice)
- TT Superstock (without limitation of tyre choice)
- Other machines admitted at the discretion of the Organisers
- TT Superbike: (Machines complying with the 2012 FIM Superbike and Supersport Championships specifications)
Official Qualification Time
- 115% of the time set by the third fastest qualifier in the class.[4]
Speed and Lap Records
The lap record for the Senior TT class is 17 Minutes and 11.591 seconds at an average speed of 131.668 mph set by Michael Dunlop during the 2014 Senior TT Race. The race record for the Senior TT is 1 hour, 45 minutes and 20.394 seconds, at an average race speed of 128.943 mph set by John McGuinness in 2013 during the 6 lap (236.38 Miles) race. The longest race distance for a FIM Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship event was the 500cc 1957 Isle of Man TT race. The 8 lap (302.00 Miles) 1957 Senior TT race was won by Bob McIntyre riding a 500cc Gilera in 3 hours, 2 minutes and 57.0 seconds at an average race speed of 98.99 mph.
Senior TT Race Winners
| Rider | Wins |
|---|---|
| Mike Hailwood | 7 |
| John McGuinness | 6 |
| Giacomo Agostini | 5 |
| Joey Dunlop, Steve Hislop, John Surtees, Stanley Woods | 4 |
| Alec Bennett, Harold Daniell, Geoff Duke, David Jefferies, Phillip McCallen | 3 |
| Adrian Archibald, Ray Amm, Howard R Davies, Charlie Dodson, Mick Grant, Jimmie Guthrie, Tom Herron, Rob McElnea | 2 |
| Frank Applebee, Jr., Reg Armstrong, Artie Bell, Norman Brown, Roger Burnett, Phil Carpenter, Graeme Crosby, Michael Dunlop, Tommy de la Hay, Jack Findlay, Carl Fogarty, Freddie Frith, Oliver Godfrey, Wal Handley, Gary Hocking, Ian Hutchinson, Tim Hunt, Bob McIntyre, Georg Meier, Steve Plater, Cyril Pullin, Phil Read, Tom Sheard, Ian Simpson, Tim Wood | 1 |
Senior TT Race Winners by Marque
| Marque | Wins |
|---|---|
| Honda | 23 |
| Norton | 20 |
| MV Agusta | 13 |
| Suzuki | 11 |
| Yamaha | 5 |
| Sunbeam | 4 |
| BMW, Gilera, Rudge, Scott | 2 |
| AJS, Douglas, HRD, Indian, Kawasaki, Moto Guzzi | 1 |
See also
References
- ↑ Guinness Motorcycle Sport Fact Book by Ian Morrison pp120 (1991)(1st Edition) Guinness Publishing The Bath Press ISBN 0-5112-953-6
- ↑ http://www.iomtt.com/News/2012/06/09/Decision-made-on-final-day-of-racing-at-the-2012-TT.aspx
- ↑ International Tourist Trophy Regulations 2012 page 3/Appendix A page 34 ACU Events (Isle of Man) Limited (2012) Isle of Man Department of Economic Development
- ↑ International Tourist Trophy Regulations 2012 page 19 ACU Events (Isle of Man) Limited (2012) Isle of Man Department of Economic Development
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