Fairfield Motorsport - Isle of Man rallying 2008

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Isle of Man rallying 2008

2008
Manx National	9th-10th May	2008
Manx International	17th-19th July	2008

Two important car rallies in the British rally calendar are run on the Isle of Man each year, attracting many competitors from Ireland, mainland Great Britain and Europe.

The first on the event calendar is the Manx National Rally run in May of each year. Rally headquarters for the Manx National is in Douglas and all is very compact.

The second on the event calendar is the Manx International Rally which runs in late July/early August of each year, and is part of the British Rally Championship. Also, alongside the Manx International, a Historic Rally runs which forms part of the HRCR Rally Championship.

The Isle of Man receives much of its tourism revenue from Motorsport, with the Manx National Rally and the Manx International Rally contributing strongly. The island's predominant sport, however, is motorbiking. During the famous IOM TTs, the population of the Island swells by some 35,000 people. TT stands for the Tourist Trophy. Bikers come from all over the world to ride their machines on the unrestricted roads of Island. 2007 will celebrate 100 years of TT racing.

Motorsport arrived on the Isle of Man in 1904 with the Gordon Bennett car trails. The Manx National and Manx International Rallies are run on public roads- not allowed in mainland Great Britain, other than on the Epynt Military Ranges in Wales, the Otterburn Military Ranges in Northumberland and the Jim Clark Rally in Scotland. This freedom adds to the attraction of both the National & International Manx Rallies. The Isle of Man is the largest of British Islands which allow closed road rallying, the others being Jersey in the Channel Islands and Mull off the coast of Scotland.

The Manx parliament (the ‘Tynwald’) passed an act allowing racing on public roads to be permitted, and the first race following this decree was held on the 28th May, 1907 for motorbikes.

One of most famous of drivers to compete on the Manx Rallies was the late Tony Pond. Tony lived on the island for many years and was a keen cyclist. He came to know the island well and decided to challenge the motorbike record in a car.

His challenge was in a Rover, and his first attempts were with his good friend and regular co-driver Robert Arthur, who was also a long-time Manx resident. He was further off the pace than he thought he would be, so out he went and Tony challenged alone, knowing the route exceptionally well. He was getting closer to the time but still not there, so he took out everything he could take from the car until success was in sight.

We all have our special memories of Tony Pond. At the end of the Scottish Rally, being interviewed on the winning podium he was asked how he felt- ‘Well when rallying with Rover, at the end of a rally the car was put into a museum- and the end of this one I feel I need to go to the Museum‘. The British and European rally scene misses this great competitor and ambassador of Motorsport.

The Manx International Rally concept was born in 1962 by rally enthusiast John Hopwood and he ran the first event in 1963 with considerable encouragement.

The Manx International is part of the British Championship and draws competitors mainly from Ireland and Great Britain, but, as the past winners list shows, the International Manx as been won by European drivers from Belgium, Germany and Finland.

For travel information and assistance please contact :

Fairfield Motorsport
Tele: 01 656 725000 (UK)
Fax : 01 656 725062
E-Mail : info@fairfieldmotorsport.com