Isle of Man

The Isle of Man (/ˈmæn/; Manx: Ellan Vannin [ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn]) is a self-governing Crown dependency in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. Foreign relations and defence are the responsibility of the British Government.

The island has been inhabited since before 6500 BC. Gaelic cultural influence began in the 5th century and the Manx language, a branch of the Gaelic languages, emerged. In 627, Edwin of Northumbria conquered the Isle of Man along with most of Mercia. In the 9th century, Norsemen established the Kingdom of the Isles. Magnus III, King of Norway, was also known as King of Mann and the Isles between 1099 and 1103.

In 1266, the island became part of Scotland by the Treaty of Perth, after being a part of Norway. After a period of alternating rule by the kings of Scotland and England, the island came under the feudal lordship of the English Crown in 1399. The lordship revested into the British Crown in 1765, but the island never became part of the Kingdom of Great Britain or its successor the United Kingdom, retaining its status as an internally self-governing Crown dependency.

Isle of Man TT

The International Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy) Race is a motorcycle sport event held annually on the Isle of Man in May or June of each year since the inaugural race in 1907. The Isle of Man TT for many years was the most prestigious motor-cycle race in the world and also seen as the ultimate test for competitors and machines alike. The Isle of Man TT has been administered by the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU) (previously the Auto-Cycle Club) since 1907 and is currently managed since 2008 by ACU Events Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of the ACU.

The Isle of Man TT has been traditionally run in a time-trial format on public roads closed for racing by the provisions of an Act of Tynwald (the parliament of the Isle of Man). The event consists of one week of practice sessions followed by one week of racing. It has been a tradition perhaps started by racing competitors in the early 1920s for spectators to tour the Snaefell Mountain Course on motor-cycles during the Isle of Man TT on "Mad Sunday," an informal and unofficial sanctioned event held on the Sunday between ‘Practice Week’ and ‘Race Week.’

Isle

Isle may refer to:

See also

Road racing

In North America, road racing is motor racing held on a paved closed circuit with both left and right turns. Road racing is therefore distinct from both off-road racing and oval track racing; the latter is common in North America and involves turning in only one direction (usually left, counter-clockwise). Road racing may be on purpose-built race tracks (called road courses) or on temporary circuits, such as closed-off airport runways and public roads, typically street circuits. A "roval" is a road course incorporating parts of an oval track and its infield, such as is used for the 24 Hours of Daytona at Daytona International Speedway.

In British English, the term is usually used for short circuit events held at purpose-built facilities typically of one to three miles in length, often with scenic, landscaped surroundings resembling parkland. Many older facilities were based on disused former-airfields after [World War II]] and have fallen into disrepair and been re-purposed and built-over, and, although some have endured for closed-to-club and British national events, only Silverstone, having benefitted from a massive redevelopment, is of international standard.