Motorcyclist

Isle of Man TT | By the Numbers

Photography by Scott Odell

July 6, 2011

Isle of Man TT

The year 2007 marked the 100th anniversary of the Isle of Man TT, the world's most historic-and dangerous-motorcycle race, run annually over public roads on an island in the Irish Sea. Here are some other key numbers that have factored into the TT's history:

33 Length of the island in miles from tip to tip.

15.84 Length of the "Short" course (shortened because the motorcycles of that era couldn't make it up the mountain) in miles, as used in 1907.

37.73 Length of the current "Mountain" course in miles, first used by motorcycles in 1911.

265 Number of corners on the physically punishing Mountain course.

1000 Number of feet the course climbs in the one-mile approach to the Snaefell Mountain summit, the highest point on the course at 1384 feet above sea level.

90 Average mpg of bikes entered in the single-cylinder racing category in 1907. Racing categories that first year were determined by fuel consumption rather than displacement, with a second class for multi-cylinder bikes that averaged 75 mpg.

15.72 Average mpg of 1000cc racebikes entered in the 2007 Senior TT.

38.21 Average speed in mph of Charlie Collier, the overall winner of the very first TT in 1907.

130.354 Average speed in mph of John McGuinness' second lap in the 2007 Senior TT, a new outright lap record.

226 Total number of fatalities in the TT's 100-year history, making it by far the deadliest motorcycle race in the world.

1976 The final year the Isle of Man held Grand Prix World Championship status, revoked due to rising safety concerns.

26 Total number of TT victories by Irishman Joey Dunlop OBE, MBE-the winningest TT rider ever and the best real-roads racer that ever lived. Mike "The Bike" Hailwood lies second with 14 wins, followed by Steve Hislop, Phillip McCallen, John McGuinness and Dave Molyneux, all tied with 11 wins apiece.

185 Total number of TT wins on Yamaha machines, the winningest brand in TT history. Honda is second with 172 total wins, followed by Norton in third with 94 wins.