Editing Isle of Man TT (section)

==Early Isle of Man TT race history (1904–1910)==

===Gordon Bennett and Tourist Trophy car races===
Motor racing began on the Isle of Man in 1904 with the Gordon Bennett Eliminating Trial, restricted to touring automobiles. As the [[Motor Car Act 1903]] placed a speed restriction of {{convert|20|mph|abbr=on}} on automobiles in the UK, Julian Orde, Secretary of the Automobile Car Club of Britain and Ireland approached the authorities in the Isle of Man for the permission to race automobiles on the island's public roads.<ref>''Island Racer'' 2004 pp 112–113 Mortons Media Group Ltd. {{ISBN|9780954244224}}</ref> The Highways (Light Locomotive) Act 1904 gave permission in the Isle of Man for the {{convert|52.15|mi|adj=on}} [[Highroads Course]] for the 1904 Gordon Bennett Eliminating Trial which was won by Clifford Earl (Napier) in 7 hours 26.5 minutes for five laps ({{convert|255.5|mi|disp=or|abbr=on}}) of the [[Highroads Course]]. The 1905 Gordon Bennett Trial was held on 30 May 1905 and was again won by Clifford Earl driving a Napier automobile in 6 hours and 6 minutes for six laps of the Highroads Course. This was followed in September 1905 with the first Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Race for racing automobiles, now known as the [[RAC Tourist Trophy]] and was won by John Napier (Arrol-Johnston) in 6 hours and 9 minutes at an average speed of {{convert|33.90|mph|abbr=on}}.<ref>''TT Pioneers – Early Car Racing in the Isle of Man'' by Robert Kelly p68 The Manx Experience (1996) The Alden Press ISBN No 1 873120 61 3</ref>

===International Motor-Cycle Cup Race (1905)===
For the 1905 Gordon Bennett Eliminating Trial it was decided to run an eliminating trial for motorcycles the day afterwards for a team to represent Great Britain in the International Motor-Cycle Cup Races. An accident at Ramsey Hairpin forced out one of the pre-race favourites, and the inability of the competitors to climb the steep Mountain Section of the course forced the organisers to use a {{convert|25|mi|adj=on}} section of the Gordon Bennett Trial course. This ran from [[Douglas, Isle of Man|Douglas]] south to [[Castletown, Isle of Man|Castletown]] and then north to [[Ballacraine]] along the primary [[A3 road (Isle of Man)|A3 road]] and returning to the start at the [[Quarterbridge, Isle of Man|Quarterbridge]] in Douglas via [[Crosby, Isle of Man|Crosby]] and Glen Vine along the current [[Snaefell Mountain Course]] in the reverse direction. The 1905 International Motor-Cycle Cup Race for five laps ({{convert|125|mi|disp=or|abbr=on}}) was won by J.S. Campbell (Ariel) despite a fire during a pit stop<ref>''The Motor Cycle'' pp545 dated 19 June 1905</ref> in 4&nbsp;hours, 9&nbsp;minutes and 36 seconds at an average race speed of {{convert|30.04|mph|abbr=on}}.<ref>''Island Racer'' 2003 p89 Mortons Media Group Ltd {{ISBN|0954244222}}</ref>