Seventy-four years ago, in such a different world, it was dry and clear as 100 350cc riders lined up on Glencrutchery Road. June 13, 1949 and the birth of a dream. The very first Grand Prix: seven laps and 425 km of the mythical Isle of Man Mountain circuit. Just four years after the end of World War II, the FIM launched the World Motorcycle Grand Prix Championship a year ahead of its four-wheeled counterparts. Four solo classes; 125, 250, 350 and 500, plus of course sidecars, and at European sites in Bern, Assen, Spa-Francorchamps, Clady, Monza and the Isle of Man. They had been racing motorbikes on this piece of granite wedged in the middle of the Irish Sea since 1907. Back then the speed limit was 25km/h on British roads. Manx’s forward-thinking government realized that closing its roads for racing could have far-reaching consequences, and they were right.
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