Entering the IOM TT Races in 1937.....

I guess we all dreamed that had we lived before WW2, lets say 1937, that we would enter the IOM TT races and so on.....

But just what did it cost to do that?

On the blog are parts of the 1937 supplementary regulations for the IOM TT races... it was a set of these you would have to get and likely you would have written to the ACU of GB in Pall Mall, London who ran the races or got your motorcycle club secretary to get a set for you.

You of course would have to be a member of a club affiliated with the ACU...

Assuming you had sufficient experience, for while they were not as strict then with entrants as they are today, a first time rider could be a danger to himself..I say himself as it was a strictly male event in those days.

The supp. regs note it cost £10 to enter, £20 if you put in a late entry.Prize money as you can see went from £100 for first down to £30 for 6th. After that you got a replica of the TT trophy.

Of course you needed a racing motorcycle and a KTT or Norton of the day would set you back £100.

How much did a person earn then? A chart I chased up on the internet , indicates between £3/15/- and £2/19/- for a craftsman and a labourer per 50 hour week.

So the entry into the TT without the 2 weeks off work, ferry to and from the Island, accommodation etc, is around 2½ and 3½ weeks wages...compare that to today's wages and it cost lots to enter this prestigious road race.

The price of the racer would be some 33 weeks wages.

An earlier blog looked at Stanley Woods costings for his IOM TT successes in 1938.

They make interesting comparisons.

Left click on images to enlarge.