Isle of Man

The track at a glance

The Snaefell Mountain Course is a course of public roads on the Isle of Man, an island in the Irish Sea. It is 60.72 km (37.73 miles) long with around 219 corners, about 60 of them named, and runs clockwise. It was first used for the TT motorcycle races in 1911.

The lap starts on Glencrutchery Road in Douglas, heads west and north through villages to Ramsey, then climbs over the mountain to more than 400 m before dropping back down to Douglas. For the rest of the year these are normal roads with houses, shops and bus stops along them.

The roads are closed for the TT races in late spring and for the Manx Grand Prix and Classic TT in late summer. Riders lap at average speeds of more than 130 mph, between walls, kerbs and lamp posts.

A lap of Isle of Man, corner by corner

The course has hundreds of corners. This guide follows ten well-known places around the lap. Their numbers match the map.

1. Bray Hill

   A steep downhill run straight after the start, taken flat out between houses, with a big compression at the bottom.

2. Quarterbridge

   A slow right at a roundabout, the first real braking point of the lap.

3. Ballacraine

   A sharp right at a crossroads that marks the start of the fast, twisty run through the glens.

4. Kirk Michael

   A fast run through a village, between houses and walls, on the island’s west coast.

5. Ballaugh Bridge

   A humpback bridge in a village where bikes leave the ground.

6. Sulby Straight

   One of the fastest parts of the course, a long straight on the flat land in the north of the island.

7. Ramsey Hairpin

   A slow left-hand hairpin at the start of the climb out of Ramsey and up the mountain.

8. The Mountain

   An open, exposed climb past the Black Hut and the Verandah to the Bungalow and the highest part of the course.

9. Creg-ny-Baa

   A sharp right at a pub at the bottom of a long, fast descent off the mountain.

10. Governor’s Bridge

    A tight hairpin and dip just before the run back onto Glencrutchery Road and the finish.

More than a century of road racing

The Mountain Course has been used for racing since before the First World War, and much of its route is unchanged.

• 1911Motorcycle races move to the Mountain Course for the first time.
• 1919The course is changed, and the start and finish move to Glencrutchery Road in Douglas.
• 1923The Manx Grand Prix, for amateur riders, begins life as the Amateur TT.
• 1938The official length is set at 37.73 miles (60.72 km).
• 2023The lap record is set at 16:36.115, an average of 136.358 mph (219.447 km/h).

A race on everyday roads

Unlike a circuit, the Mountain Course was never designed for racing. Its corners are road junctions, bridges and village streets, and the edges of the track are walls and hedges, not run-off. Learning the course takes years.

It is closer to a rally stage than a race track, just much faster. For more, read about rally stage design or see how the longest tracks compare in how long is a race track.

Ideas for your remaster

The Remaster button opens the traced layout in the designer. You can move any point and the lap time, speed trace and corner analysis update as you go. A few places to start:

Make a short course. At more than 60 km, the lap is very long. Try a shorter loop around Douglas or over the mountain.

Plan a route. The designer handles runs and rides too. Open the course as a starting point for a cycle sportive or a long-distance route.

Name the corners. Group and name sections in the designer, and the names show on your exports and share link.

Finish it properly. Add track width, kerbs and run-off to turn it into a purpose-built circuit.

When you’re happy with it, share your version with its own link. The original stays here for the next person to remaster.

Frequently asked questions

Layout traced from OpenStreetMap data, © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via open-racetrack-db. Circuit facts: Wikipedia. RaceTrackDesigner is not affiliated with the circuit, its owners or any racing series.