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Trackside Tuesday: A Manx Perspective on the Classic TT

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The dust has now settled on this year’s Classic TT. For those unfamiliar with the event, the Classic TT was born from the ashes of the old Manx Grand Prix. Run on the same Mountain Course as the TT, the Manx as it was affectionately known, featured racing on modern and classic machinery.

Originally created as the amateur rider’s TT,  TT legends such as Steve Hislop and Philip McCallen first cut their teeth at the Manx before moving on to the TT. Multiple World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty won at “The Manx” in the 1985.

As media interest in the old Manx Grand Prix format dwindled, the Manx government started looking at ways to improve its marketing appeal and increase visitor numbers.  Early proposals to cut the amount of modern classes were met with protests by some local fans, but a new format was eventually agreed and the Festival of Motorcycling was born.

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Grand Prix Racer – A Documentary on the Manx GP

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If you haven’t seen TT3D: Closer to the Edge, the documentary about the Isle of Man TT, then you owe it to yourself to beg, borrow, or steal a copy for your viewing pleasure (we enjoyed it greatly at our viewing at the Isle of Man). A follow-up to that venerable film (no, not this), from the Isle of Man comes Grand Prix Racer, a documentary that covers that other race over the Snaefell Mountain Course: the Manx Grand Prix.

Originally a race for amateurs that was designed to help introduce them to the TT, the Manx GP runs on the same 37 mile course as the TT and uses the same time trial format. Building its regulations to cater to older machinery, the Manx Grand Prix has just recently gone through a brand and format restructuring to make it more of a “Classic TT” event, helping differentiate the autumn race from its summer counterpart.

The restructuring is surely due to the hope by the Isle of Man government to make the Manx Grand Prix as much of a headline and destination event for motorcycle enthusiasts as the TT, and to aid in that effort the island nation has, followed-up the progress made by TT3D by producing Grand Prix Racer.

With a one-hour version of the film set to air on Britain’s ITV4 network on Tuesday, February 5th at 8pm, the film will also be made available to international broadcasters (cross your fingers America). A DVD of the film will be available March 4th. Check the trailer out after the jump.

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Manx Grand Prix to Become a “Classic TT” Event

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Our most beloved sovereignty in the middle of the Irish Sea, the Isle of Man is of course most well known for the race that bears its name, the Isle of Man TT. Traditionally taking place in the first weeks of June, the road race attracts tens of thousands of spectators to the small island, for a fortnight of racing on closed public roads. Words don’t do the Isle of Man TT justice, so honestly you are just better off booking the trip and experiencing this two-wheeled bucket-list carnival first-hand for yourself.

Not as well known as the TT, the Isle of Man plays host to a second road race on the famous Mountain Course, the Manx Grand Prix. Traditionally held in late-August or early-September, the Manx, as it is known, uses the same course as the TT, but only features non-professional racers in its classes (except for the classic class). Changing the Manx’s format to better promote and differentiate it from the more popular TT, the Isle of Man has decided to do away with modern machinery all together in the festival, and the Manx Grand Prix is to become a “Classic TT” according to its organizers, as was the rumor during the 2012 Isle of Man TT.

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