The Manx Motor Cycle Club has today announced a former winners parade as part of the Club's celebrations for the event's 90th year.
The parade will take place around the Mountain Course on Wednesday 28th August and is part of the newly created Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling which runs from 17th August to 1st September and includes the Manx Grand Prix, the Classic TT, the Classic and Two Day Trials and the Vintage Motor Cycle Club's Festival of Jurby and parade laps.
The Manx Grand Prix began in 1923 as the 'Manx Amateur Road Races' and was held until 1930 when it was renamed the Manx Grand Prix. It has run every year apart from the Second World War years and in 2001 due to Foot and Mouth precautions on the Isle of Man. The event has provided a platform for competitors to experience the Mountain Course and many of the most successful riders have graduated to compete in the TT itself.
Notable names such as Harold Daniel, Freddie Frith, Phil Read, Alex George, Steve Hislop and Ian Hutchinson amongst many others first experienced the TT Mountain Course through the Manx Grand Prix while the legendary Geoff Duke won the 1949 Senior ahead of his first TT victory in 1950 and Bob McIntyre was the winner of the 1952 Junior before he went on to be the first rider to break the magical 100mph barrier at the 1957 TT.
Other notable events in the races' 90-year history include Gloria Clark who, in 1989, became the first woman to race in the MGP. She entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1991 as the fastest lady on the TT Circuit. Manx resident Carolynn Sells became the first woman to win a race on the Snaefell Mountain Course during the 2009 Manx Grand Prix.
Former winners who are being offered the chance to take part in the parade will include Carl Fogarty, Charlie Williams, Richard 'Milky' Quayle and Phillip McCallen, while modern TT stars Michael Dunlop, Ryan Farquhar, Dan Kneen, Olie Linsdell and Ian Hutchinson have all stood on the top step at the Manx before competing in the TT and will also be eligible to participate in this historic parade.
The Manx Motor Cycle Club estimates that there are around 216 former winners still alive since the first race in 1923 and all are eligible to take part including Kelly Swanston, the 1935 Senior Manx Grand Prix winner, who is now 104 years old.
