Located in the middle of the Irish Sea is a very special place. A place where every year in late spring thousands of people come to watch the KINGS of pure road racing test their stamina and ability against the ultimate race track, The Mountain Course.

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******    These ARE NOT CHEAP FAR EAST RIP-OFFS. THE REAL DEAL FROM THE '70s MADE IN THE UK... *******

This is a rare find. 1970's Isle Of Man shoulder patch. FOUND ON the I.O.M.  Approximately 3" We have never such a high thread count. Super quality. When they are gone that's it! Good luck and thanks for looking

Motor racing first came to the Isle of Man in 1904 when the Gordon Bennett car trials were held. In England it was impossible to close the public roads for racing, so a proposal was put to the Isle of Man government. The government brought in new legislation to enable the closing of public roads for racing, and the Isle of Man was ready to take up the mantle of The Road Racing Capital of the World.

Motorcycle road racing first came to the Isle of Man in 1907 when the first TT races where held on the Short Course. This was a triangular course with the start at St John's. The riders proceeded along the course to Ballacraine before turning left and following the current TT course through to Kirk Michael. At Douglas Road Corner in Kirk Michael, the Short Course left the current TT course and followed the coast road to Peel, before turning left again and heading back to St John's. In 1911 the racing moved to the Mountain Circuit. The Mountain Circuit is some 37.73 miles long and runs from the start in Douglas on Glencrutchery Road in a westerly direction through Braddan, Union Mills, Glen Vine and Crosby until it reaches Ballacraine. At Ballacraine the riders turn right and head north through Glen Helen, Kirk Michael, Ballaugh and Sulby to Ramsey, some 23.5 miles from the start. The riders swing south and head up the daunting Mountain climb rising from Sea level in Ramsey to some 1400ft at the highest point at Brandywell, before descending the mountain and heading back to Douglas.

In 1911 the first TT's on the Mountain Circuit were held with P J Evans on a Humber winning the Junior 350cc TT at 41.45mph and O C Godfrey on an Indian the Senior 500cc TT at 47.63mph. But for breaks between 1914 and 1920 and again from 1939 to 1946 for the two wars, the TT and Manx Grand Prix races, which started in 1923, have been held each year in June and September on the Mountain Circuit.

In 1949 the Motorcycle World Championships started, and the TT was one of the Grand Prix events that year, indeed the Mountain Circuit hosted the British Grand Prix until 1976. In 1977, the British Grand Prix moved to Silverstone. Another circuit was used for TT races in the 1950's. This was known as the Clypse Course and was 10.75 miles long. In 1954 it was used for the 125cc race, and the reintroduced Sidecar TT which had not been held since 1925. The Lightweight 250cc race also moved to the Clypse Course in 1955, and the course was used for these races until 1959. During this period the rest of the TT program remained on the Mountain Circuit. In 1960 all the races races moved back to the Mountain Circuit where they have remained ever since. 1957 saw the first ever 100mph lap recorded around the TT circuit by Bob McIntyre in the Silver Jubilee Senior on a 500cc Gilera. The first sub 20 minute lap was recorded by American Pat Hennen in the 1978 Senior TT on a 500cc Suzuki.

In 1992 the lap record was raised to 123.61mph - 18 minutes 18.8 seconds, by World Superbike Champion Carl Fogarty on a 750cc Yamaha during his epic battle with the Rotary Norton of Steve Hislop. The record stood until 1999 when Jim Moodie on an RC45 Honda lapped in 18 minutes 11.4 seconds, 124.45mph from a standing start.

During the 2000 TT meeting, David Jefferies became the first rider to lap at over 125mph when on the final lap of the Senior TT he lapped in 18 minutes 0.6 seconds, 125.69mph. In 2002, David Jefferies became the first rider to lap the TT Circuit in under 18 minutes and established a new outright lap record of 17 minutes 47 seconds, 127.29mph.