The Billown Circuit is a motorcycle road-race course used for the Southern 100, the Pre-TT Classic races and the National Road Races meetings near Castletown on the Isle of Man. Racing is held on public roads closed for racing by an Act of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man.

The course is 4.25 miles (6.8 km) long and is in the parishes of Arbory and Malew. The course start-line is on the outskirts of Castletown and the course includes parts of the primary A5 New Castletown Road, the A28 Castletown to Ballabeg road, the A7 Ballasalla to Port Erin road and the A3 Castletown to Ramsey road.

History Following the closure of the former RAF Station at Andreas to motorcycle racing in 1954, and to celebrate the success of George 'Sparrow' Costain and Derek Ennett at the 1954 Manx Grand Prix, the Southern Motor Cycle Club (SMCC) proposed that a motorcycle circuit be developed in the area around Castletown in the Isle of Man.Southern 100 Silver Jubilee Road Racing Meeting pp33 SMCC Ltd (1979)

The proposal for a "South TT"Isle of Man Examiner pp. 1, dated 14 January 1955 using roads around the new Castletown A5 by-pass and the Billown Mansion met with a lukewarm response, and an application for a grant of £500 for race expenditure was rejected by the Tynwald Race Committee in April 1955.Isle of Man Examiner p1 dated 22 April 1955 A grant of £500 from local businesses, including T. H. Coleburn for a public address system, enabled the first Southern 100 road race event to be scheduled for July 1955 as a club-level race meeting.Isle of Man Examiner p.1 dated 13 May 1955

The Billown Circuit became a regional registered circuit in 1956 and a National Racing circuit in 1957, with a maximum of 45 entries per class. In 1988 a new race meeting was introduced with the Pre-TT Classic races, followed by the National Road Races in 1990. The re-introduction of two-stroke racing at the 2008 Isle of Man TT, with a Lightweight TT and Ultra-Lightweight TT race, used the Billown Circuit to host Isle of Man TT races as part of the 2008 National Road Race meeting.

Speed and race records The lap record for the Billown Circuit is 2 minutes 10.032 seconds at a lap speed of set by Dean Harrison during the 2026 races. The current sidecar lap record, set in 2025, stands at 103.281 mph, achieved by Ryan and Callum Crowe.

List of fatal accidents involving competitors No. Rider Date Place Race Event Machine 1 Maurice A.Bowdery 10 July 1958Isle of Man Weekly Times pp8 dated 11 July 1958 Castletown Corner 1958 Southern 100 Junior 2 Tom Swindlehurst 9 July 1964 1964 Southern 100 Senior 500cc Norton 3 Graham Naylor July 1970 Williams Corner 1970 Southern 100 Senior 4 Mike Pepper July 1973 Great Meadow 1973 Southern 100 5 Jim Farlow. 9 July 1974 Church Bends 1974 Southern 100 6 Tony Dickinson 15 July 1981 Billown Dip (Black hole) 1981 Southern 100 250 Race 247 Yamaha (F) 7 Graham Williams July 1983 Church Bends 1983 Southern 100 8 John Tawse July 1985 Church Bends 1985 Southern 100 Practice 250cc Rotax 9 Steve Taylor 10 July 1988 Great Meadow 1988 Southern 100 Solo Championship 10 Andy Bassett July 1991 Billown Dip 1991 Southern 100 Practice 350cc Yamaha 11 Roger Allen 2 June 1992 Ballakeighan Corner 1992 Pre-TT Classic Vintage Classic Race 498cc TriumphThe 1992 Southern 100 TT Classic Solo & Sidecar Racing — Official Programme pp18 Southern 100 MCRC Ltd (1992) Quine & Cubbon Ltd 12 Michael Bellerby 30 May 1995 Ballanorris 1995 Pre-TT Classic Senior Classic Race 13 Matthew Wood 30 May 1995 Ballanorris 1995 Pre-TT Classic Senior Classic Race 14 Rob Harrison 18 July 1994 Iron Gate 1994 Southern 100 15 Graham Hayne July 1996 Great Meadow 1996 Southern 100 Practice 600cc Yamaha 16 Michael Craig July 1996 Great Meadow 1996 Southern 100 Practice 600cc Yamaha 17 Dave Pinkerton July 1996 Great Meadow 1996 Southern 100 Practice 350cc Yamaha 18 Gavin Lee 13 July 1999 Williams Corner 1999 Southern 100 250cc YamahaSouthern 100 Motorcycle & Sidecar Racing — Official Programme 1999 pp30 Southern 100 MCRC Ltd (1999) Quine & Cubbon Ltd 19 Marc McDonald 13 July 1999 Williams Corner 1999 Southern 100 600cc Kawasaki 20 Andy Brown 9 July 2003 Ballawhetstone 2003 Southern 100 600cc — Ireson YamahaSouthern 100 Motorcycle & Sidecar Racing — Official Programme 2003 pp6 Southern 100 MCRC Ltd (2003) Quine & Cubbon Ltd 21 John Dowling 9 July 2003 Ballawhetstone 2003 Southern 100 (Sidecar Passenger) 600cc — Ireson Yamaha 22 Tony Smith 25 May 2006 Iron Gate 2006 Pre-TT Classic Practice 23 Barry Pepperrell 25 May 2006 Iron Gate 2006 Pre-TT Classic (Sidecar Passenger) Practice 24 Phillip Dongworth 14 July 2009Isle of Man Examiner p5 dated 28 July 2009 Ballanorris 2009 Southern 100 Practice 600cc Ireson HondaSouthern 100 Race Guide 2009 p32 (2009) Southern 100 MCRC Ltd Quine & Cubbon Ltd 25 David Jukes 8 July 2013 Ballakeighan Corner 2013 Southern 100 Practice 600cc Yamaha 26 Mark Madsen-Mygdal 11 July 2013Isle of Man Courier – Roieder Ellan Vannin page 1 Isle of Man Newspapers Ltd (2013) Johnson Press Publishing – Sheffield Web 12 July 2013 Castletown Stadium 2013 Southern 100 600cc Race B 600cc Yamaha 27 Paul Thomas 11 July 2013Isle of Man Examiner – Brialtagh Ellan Vannin page 11 Isle of Man Newspapers Ltd (2013) Johnson Press Publishing – Sheffield Web 15–21 July 2013 Osbourne's 2013 Southern 100 (Sidecar Passenger) Sidecar Championship Race 600c Baker YamahaSouthern 100 International Road Races 2013 Southern 100 MCRC Ltd (2013) Quine & Cubbon Ltd Page 34 28 Dean Martin 28 May 2016Isle of Man Classic TT 2016: Rider dies in practice race BBC News, Isle of Man, 28 May 2016, Retrieved 29 May 2016 Billown Dip 2016 Pre-TT Classic Practice 29 James Cowton 12 July 2018Southern 100: James Cowton killed in crash BBC Sport, Motorbikes, 12 July 2018, Retrieved 13 July 2018 Stadium Bends 2018 Southern 100 600cc Challenge Race600cc Kawasaki30 Alan Connor 11 July 2023 Castletown Bypass 2023 Southern 100 Practice Suzuki31 Alan Oversby24th May 2026Hedges2026 PreTT Classic400cc Race400cc Kawasaki

List of riders by overall numbers of races won Rider Wins Joey Dunlop, Ian Lougher 42 Dean Harrison 27 Michael Dunlop 26 Jason Griffiths, Chris Palmer, 22 Ryan Farquhar 21 Dave Madsen-Mygdal19 Kenny Harrison 18 Dave Leech 17 Bob Heath, Dave Molyneux 15 William Dunlop, Bill Swallow 14 Bill Smith 13 Lowry Burton, Bob Jackson, Jason Griffiths, Guy Martin 12 Derek Walley 11 Barry Wood, Robert Dunlop, Tim Reeves, Davey Todd 10 Geoff Bell, Ray McCullough, Ivan Lintin, Dan Sayle 9 Mike Hose, Bud Jackson 8 Ian Bell, Nick Crowe, Selwyn Griffiths, Darran Lindsay 7 Charlie Freeman, Bob Jackson, Phillip McCallen, Alan Oversby, Tim Poole 6 Colin Bevan, Blair Degerholm, John Knowles, Dave Pither, Roy Richardson, Meryvn Stratford, Alan Steele, Charlie Williams, Derek Young, John Watson, Mark Wilkes, Alistair Howarth, Rob Hodson 5 Ian Bell, Tony Baker, Mick Burcombe, Bill Davie, Geoff Hands, Alan Oversby, Klaus Klaffenböck, Ben Birchall, Mike Browne 4Terry Shepherd, Tim Poole, Darryl Tweed, Pete Founds, Jevan Walmsley 3 Bill Currie,(Pete & Ron Hardy) Kenny Howles, Greg Lambert, Geoff Young, Rob Bellas 2

See also Isle of Man TT Races Manx Grand Prix Clypse Course St. John's Short Course

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