The Isle of Man, life and death. Photo / Getty Images.
The Isle of Man, life and death. Photo / Getty Images.
Ever wondered how and why the Isle of Man TT motorcycle race is so dangerous?
Here's a potted history - the great and the horribly bad - of sport's most infamous dance with death.
•Riders fly around the 61km laps reaching speeds over 200km/h, surrounded by stone walls, lamp posts,buildings and kerbs while dealing with tricky corner and cambers. As a result 258 racers are known to have died, England's Daley Mathison being the latest, and the fatality total is probably around 270 when spectator and "unrecorded" deaths are included.
•In the Irish Sea, the Isle of Man - a British dependency - has a population of about 85,000. Yet the annual TT race has turned its little local hospital in to a world leader in dealing with traumatic motorcycle accident injuries.
•The most famous name at the Isle of Man TT is Dunlop. Northern Ireland's Joey Dunlop, who was killed during a 2000 race in Estonia, set a record of 26 wins. His nephew Joey is third best, with 18 wins. Joey's late dad Robert had five wins.
•TT stands for Tourist Trophy – the IoM was first raced in 1907.
•Some riders and spectators lean on superstition to negate the extreme dangers by following a local custom of "greeting the fairies" at Fairy Bridge.
•John Antram from Te Puke was the first Kiwi killed at the Isle of Man, at the age of 21, on the first day of practice in 1958. It meant he never fulfilled his dream of actually racing there.
•The second Kiwi killed was Colin Meehan, aged 28, who was riding in his Isle of Man debut in 1962. Ian Veitch died six years later, as a result of injuries sustained after crashing at Glen Vine.
•In 1978, the year of Mike Hailwood's legendary comeback win, another Kiwi Michael Adler was killed.
•Yet another Kiwi, the brilliant English-born rider Robert Holden, died at the age of 37 during practice in 1996.
•In 1999, Dunedin's Stuart Murdoch, aged 34, was the fourth rider to die in 10 days.
Roads paved with dangers. Photo / Getty Images
•The last Kiwi fatality was Waikato's Paul Dobbs, who loved the race so much that one of his two daughters was named Hillberry, after a section of the race. To understand the dangers and attractions of the IoM TT, try the widely acclaimed film TT3D: Closer to the Edge. It was filmed at the 2010 Isle of Man, and includes an interview with Dobbs' wife Bridget.
•A central character from the film, ex-racer Guy Martin from England, said of the TT: "I love it because it can kill you."
•Isle of Man TT winner, Richard Quayle famously told the New York Times: "If Roger Federer misses a shot, he loses a point. If I miss an apex, I lose my life."
•The 1970 event was the most tragic, with six deaths.
•The most famous yet non-famous Kiwi TT rider is Wellington's Bruce Anstey who set an Isle of Man lap record with an average speed of nearly 213km/h in 2014. Anstey was reportedly inspired to race bikes by Brit Mike Hailwood's epic 1978 win. Anstey has had to deal with life-threatening illness. He is extremely media shy which means his profile does not match his amazing TT achievements which include 12 victories, putting him seventh in history.
•New Zealand had its own Isle of Man-style race – the country's first TT event was held on an 11km Waiheke Island course, between 1931 and 1950. From the earliest days, success on Waiheke led to Isle of Man "selection". A winning racer named Bradley headed to the IoM in 1934 but was concussed during practice and apparently never raced again.
•Fiona Kelsen, wife of New Plymouth racer Shaun Harris, has described him as "nutty as a fruit cake". His family was told to prepare for the worst, after a 2007 Isle of Man crash caused head injuries and required an induced coma. Something frighteningly similar happened at Timaru when the Harris racing comeback nine years later left him with a serious brain injury . Yet he tried planning a trip to the Isle of Man from his sick bed. "In your dreams," his wife - a nurse - told him.
