The Isle of Man TT is described as the world's most dangerous race. Yet every year more and more motorcycle enthusiasts come to this tiny British island to race in the event.
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The Isle of Man TT is described as the world's most dangerous race. Yet every year more and more motorcycle enthusiasts come to this tiny British island to race in the event.
It is a three-hour ferry ride from Liverpool to Douglas, the capital of the Isle of Man, which is a self-governing British Crown Dependency.
Year after year in late May more than 25,000 people make this journey to the small island about 70 kilometres off the English coast in the middle of the Irish Sea.
The TT race has claimed almost 150 lives in its 105-year history and the course itself has claimed more than 250 lives.
Most of the riders are amateurs with full-time jobs a world away from the megabucks of Grand Prix racing, and for them this is a very expensive business.
The course is more than 60 kilometres long and lined with kerbs, lamp posts, houses, trees and granite walls. The race is run over a distance of 364 kilometres, or six laps of the course, and takes about two hours to complete.
And, it is not a death wish. It is about living.
This film was shot during the 2012 Isle of Man TT, and it was only the third time in 20 years that the event passed by without a fatality.
Al Jazeera's Simon McGregor-Wood, a self-professed 'petrol head', took part in this year's events, though he did not actually race. Through him, we take a close look at the passion and dedication that drives people to risk their lives to ride in this race. We will also look at what makes this race so exceptional and what makes the Isle of Man so unique.
