Four Inch Course
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The Four Inch Course was a road-racing circuit first used for the 1908 Tourist Trophy Race for cars, held on public roads closed for racing by an Act of
Tynwald Tynwald ( gv, Tinvaal), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald ( gv, Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal) or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House of ...
(the parliament of the Isle of Man). The name of the course derives from the regulations for the 1908 Tourist Trophy adopted by the
Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London at 89 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, near Epsom in Surrey. Both provide accommodation and a range ...
, which limited the competitors' engines to a cylinder-diameter of four inches. The Four-Inch Course was adopted by the Auto-Cycle Club for the
1911 Isle of Man TT The 1911 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy races took place for the first time over the '' Isle of Man TT Mountain Course''. The whole organisation of the races was given over to the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU), which announced the use of the longer mounta ...
Races. The Four-Inch Course was subsequently known as the Snaefell Mountain Course or Mountain Course when used for motor-cycle racing.


Four Inch Course

The new course length was 37.5 miles, based on the 'Short' Highroads Course with the omission of the ''Sandygate Loop'' and the ''Peel Loop''. The start-line was moved from the road junction of the A2 Quarterbridge Road/Alexander Drive to Hillberry Corner on the A18 Mountain Road. The Four Inch Course was based on a number of public roads closed for the duration of racing, including: * The primary
A18 A18 or A-18 is a three-character acronym that may refer to: * A18 road (disambiguation), in several countries * A-18 Shrike, a Curtiss Model 76A twin radial engine monoplane service test aircraft of the mid-1930s * Aero A.18, a Czech fighter aircra ...
Snaefell Mountain Road from the start-line at Hillberry Corner to the junction with the primary A21 ''Johnny Watterson's Lane'' and the tertiary C10 ''Scholag Road'' at
Cronk-ny-Mona Cronk-ny-Mona () is situated between the 36 and 37 mile markers used for the Snaefell Mountain Course, being on the primary A18 Mountain Road at the road junction with the A21 ''Johnny Watterson('s) Lane'' and the tertiary C10 Scholag Road in t ...
in the town of Douglas. * The primary A21 ''Johnny Watterson's Lane'' from Cronk-ny-Mona to the junction with the A22 Ballanard Road. * The A22 Ballanard Road in an easterly direction to the road junction at St Ninian's Crossroads, the A2 Bray Hill and the A2
Quarterbridge Road Quarterbridge Road ( gv, The Quarters or Quarter Dub – quarterlands of Ballabrooie and Ballaquayle) is situated adjacent to the 1st Milestone road-side marker measured from the startline at TT Grandstand used for the Snaefell Mountain Course ...
in Douglas to Quarter Bridge. * The A1 Douglas to Peel road from Quarter Bridge to Ballacraine at the junction with the A3 Castletown to
Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Geography British Isles * Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England * Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England ** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey" * Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...
road. * The A3 Castletown to Ramsey road from Ballacraine to Parliament Square, Ramsey. * The A9 Albert Road in Ramsey, including two small sections of private road with the northerly junction of the primary
A18 A18 or A-18 is a three-character acronym that may refer to: * A18 road (disambiguation), in several countries * A-18 Shrike, a Curtiss Model 76A twin radial engine monoplane service test aircraft of the mid-1930s * Aero A.18, a Czech fighter aircra ...
Snaefell Mountain Road. * The A18 Mountain Road to the finish-line at Hillberry Corner. The Four Inch Course was adopted by the Auto-Cycle Club for the
1911 Isle of Man TT The 1911 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy races took place for the first time over the '' Isle of Man TT Mountain Course''. The whole organisation of the races was given over to the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU), which announced the use of the longer mounta ...
Races and the start-line was moved to a level section of the
Quarterbridge Road Quarterbridge Road ( gv, The Quarters or Quarter Dub – quarterlands of Ballabrooie and Ballaquayle) is situated adjacent to the 1st Milestone road-side marker measured from the startline at TT Grandstand used for the Snaefell Mountain Course ...
between Selborne Drive and the 1st Milestone/Alexander Drive, becoming known as the Snaefell Mountain Course when used for motorcycle racing. From the 1920 Isle of Man TT races, changes were made to the Snaefell Mountain Course and competitors turned left at
Cronk-ny-Mona Cronk-ny-Mona () is situated between the 36 and 37 mile markers used for the Snaefell Mountain Course, being on the primary A18 Mountain Road at the road junction with the A21 ''Johnny Watterson('s) Lane'' and the tertiary C10 Scholag Road in t ...
following the primary A18 Bemahague Road to Governor's Bridge, then to a new start/finish line on Glencrutchery Road which lengthened the course from the pre-
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
length of to . More changes to the course followed for the
1923 Isle of Man TT The 1923 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy saw the introduction of the first Sidecar TT race over 3 laps, won by Freddie Dixon and passenger Walter Denney using a special Douglas motorcycle with a banking-sidecar in a time of 2 hours, 7 minut ...
races with the adoption of two small sections of private road between
Parliament Square Parliament Square is a square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster in central London. Laid out in the 19th century, it features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and it contai ...
and
May Hill May Hill is a prominent English hill between Gloucester and Ross-on-Wye. Its summit, on the western edge of Gloucestershire and its northern slopes in Herefordshire, is distinguishable by a clump of trees on its summit, which forms an official ...
in Ramsey. The Snaefell Mountain Course had previously negotiated the A2 Albert Road and Tower Road in Ramsey which differed from the original Four-Inch circuit which had incorporated these sections of private road and the new Mountain Course length increased to . The official course distance for the Snaefell Mountain Course was amended for the 1938 Isle of Man TTraces to which is the current Snaefell Mountain Course length.''Official TT Guide 1992'' page 45 edited by Norrie White Isle of Man Department of Tourism (1992) Mannin Media Ltd


See also

* Snaefell Mountain Course * Clypse Course * Billown Circuit * RAC Tourist Trophy *
Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...
* Manx Grand Prix


Sources


External links

{{coord, 54, 10, 18, N, 4, 29, 31, W, display=title, region:IM_type:landmark Motorsport venues in the Isle of Man