Southern 100
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|---|---|
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| Region | Isle of Man |
| Date | 11-14 July (2016) |
| Type | Road Course |
| Clerk of the Course | Phil Taubman |
| Event Organiser | Southern 100 Motor Cycle Racing Ltd |
| Principal sponsor | Isle of Man Department of Economic Development |
| First race | 1955 |
| Number of races | 56 (2012) |
| First winner | Terry Shepherd (1955) |
| Most wins | Ian Lougher 32 |
| Lap record | Guy Martin (2013) 2 minutes, 13.923 secs 114.245 mph (183.860 km/h) |
The Southern 100 is a motorcycle road-racing event held on the Isle of Man in July of each year. The event was first held in 1955, with three races for different classes of solo motorcycles; the 2015 calendar included twelve races for various classes.[1] The participants compete on the Billown Circuit in the south of the island, starting and finishing at Castletown.
History
In 1955, the inaugural Southern 100 races featured races for each of the two traditional classes, the 250 cc and the 350 cc, a race distance of 25 miles (40 km) for the 6 laps. A 500 cc race was also included as the feature race of 24 laps, totalling in excess of 100 miles (160 km).[2] The races that year had 73 entrants, with the first race won by Manxman Derek Ennett. In 1958 the event was granted "National Status", and eleven years later was included in the British Championships.[3] The races were part of the Irish Regal Championships in 1992 and 1993,[2] and is now one of five FIM-sanctioned International meetings in the British Isles.[3] Sidecar racing was introduced in 1962,[3] and currently constitutes two of the twelve scheduled races.[4]
Ian Lougher has achieved the most Solo victories, with 32 wins, followed closely by Joey Dunlop with 31. Dave Molyneux leads the Sidecar victories, with 15.[5] The Billown Circuit has been lapped with an average speed over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) on a number of occasions, but it was first achieved by Dave Leech in the 1989 Southern 100 Solo Championship Race riding a 1000 cc Yamaha at an average speed of 100.26 mph.[6]
Sources
- ^ 2015 Race results, Southern 100 Motorcycle Racing. Retrieved 13 December 2015
- ^ a b "Southern 100 Motorcycle Racing: History". Isle of Man Guide. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- ^ a b c Edge, Phil (24 November 2009). "The history of the 'Southern 100'". BBC. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- ^ "Steam Packet Southern "100" Races Results: 2011". Southern 100 Motor Cycle Racing Club Ltd. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- ^ "Most wins". Southern 100 Motor Cycle Racing Club Ltd. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- ^ Southern 100 – Race Programme 1990 Southern 100 Motor Cycle Racing Ltd (1990) Castletown Press page 81