Highroads Course was a road-racing circuit used for the Gordon Bennett British Eliminating Trial held in the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

for the 1904 and 1905 Tourist Trophy Race involving touring automobiles and

cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

. The events were 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 ...

(the parliament of the Isle of Man).

Highroads Course

The

street circuit A street circuit is a motorsport racing circuit composed of temporarily closed-off public roads of a city, town or village, used in motor races. Airport runways and taxiways are also sometimes part of street circuits. Facilities such as the ...

course measured 52.15 miles long from the start-line at the

Quarterbridge Quarterbridge Crossing ''(''Manx'': Crossag Droghad y Cherroo)'' was the first major crossing point of the Isle of Man Railway's first line from Douglas to Peel. It opened in 1873, but closed in 1968, with the rest of the line. History A gated ...

area in the town of

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

. The circuit was based on a number of public roads including: * The primary A5 New Castletown to Douglas road and the A3 Castletown to Ramsey road to

Ballaugh Bridge __NOTOC__ Ballaugh Bridge is located on the primary A3 Castletown to Ramsey road and adjacent to the road junctions with the A10 Ballaugh to Ramsey coast road and the tertiary C37 Ballaugh Glen Road in the parish of Ballaugh in the Isle of ...

. * The primary A10 Jurby Coast Road from Ballaugh Bridge to the Ballaugh Cronk and the A13 Jurby Road from the Ballaugh Cronk to Ramsey included the A9 Bowring Road in Ramsey, this section being known as the ''Sandygate Loop''. * The A2 Albert Road in Ramsey centre, including a section of private road and the primary A18 Mountain Road to the road junction with the A21 road and C10 Scholag Road at Cronk-ny-Mona in Douglas. * The primary A21 ''Johnny Watterson('s) Lane'' at Cronk-ny-Mona, the A22 Ballanard Road, A2 Bray Hill and the A2 Quarterbridge Road in Douglas. The highest point of the course was at Brandywell on the primary A18 Mountain Road measuring a

spot height A spot height is an exact point on a map with an elevation recorded beside it that represents its height above a given datum.Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984, p. 506. . In the UK this is the Ord ...

of 422 metres (1,384 feet) above sea level.

Short Highroads Course

For the 1906 Tourist Trophy Race the Highroad course was amended to a distance of 40.38 miles to prevent disruption to railway services. The start was moved from Quarterbridge to the road junction of the A2 Quarterbridge Road/Alexander Drive adjacent to the property called 'Woodlands' in the town of Douglas. Again the course was based on a number of public roads closed for racing: * The primary A1 Douglas to Peel road, A4 Peel to Kirk Michael coast road and the A3 Castletown to Ramsey road from Douglas Road Corner in Kirk Michael to Parliament Square in Ramsey. * The A9 Albert Road in the town of Ramsey, including a section of private road and the primary A18 Mountain Road to the road junction with the A21 road and C10 Scholag Road at Cronk-ny-Mona in Douglas. * The primary A21 ''Johnny Watterson('s) Lane,'' the A22 Ballanard Road, A2 Bray Hill and the A2 Quarterbridge Road in Douglas. * The ''Sandygate Loop'' from Ballaugh to Ramsey was omitted to reduce overall course length.

History

Motor racing began on the Isle of Man in 1904 with the Gordon Bennett Trial and was originally restricted to touring automobiles. As the

Motor Car Act 1903 The Motor Car Act 1903 (3 Edw.7, c. 36) was an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament that received royal assent on 14 August 1903, which introduced motor vehicle registration, driver licensing and increased the speed limit. Context The Act followe ...

placed a speed restriction of 20 mph on automobiles in the United Kingdom, the Secretary of the

Automobile Car Club of Britain and Ireland A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

approached the authorities in the Isle of Man for the permission to race automobiles on public roads.''Island Racer'' 2004 pp 112–113 Mortons Media Group Ltd ISSN 1743-5838 The act approved by Tynwald, the

Highways (Light Locomotive) Act 1904 A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

, gave permission for the 52.15 mile Highroads Course for the 1904 Gordon Bennett Car Trial.

Sources

External links

Motorsport venues in the Isle of Man {{Isle of Man Racing Circuits