In order to allow racing on the Mountain Course the roads have to be closed to the public. Once closed, the roads can be set up to make the suitable for racing. Since most of the locations around the course are only accessible by going on the course, this means that Marshals and Medics generally have to be in position before the roads close. We suggest you allow plenty of time to get to your location before the roads close since traffic can be heavy. There are some locations that can be accessed when the roads are closed, but these are in the minority.
The roads in the mountain section of the course (from Ramsey to Creg-ny-Baa) close earlier than the rest of the course. During TT the mountain section is one way from Ramsey to Creg-ny-Baa and there are cones and signage to control the traffic when the road is open. Before racing can start all of these need to be removed. Hence the earlier closing over the mountain. As a result, if you are stationed on the mountain and you want to get to your location on open roads you will have to get there quite a bit earlier. During TT you would also have to do so via Ramsey. There is no one way system in operation during the Manx Grand Prix, but if you do go up the mountain from the Creg-ny-Baa end whilst the roads are still open we would recommend extreme caution as many of the other users appear to assume that it is one way!
The other alternative to get to your post on the mountain is to wait at either Creg-ny-Baa or Ramsey (depending upon where exactly you are stationed on the mountain), and then to join one of the two Marshals’ convoys that leave approximately 15mins after the road has closed. The convoy from Ramsey and the one from Creg-ny-Baa both end at the Bungalow (from opposite directions).
Once racing has finished the mountain section will stay closed for approximately 30mins longer than the rest of the course to allow replacement of the cones and signage. The Marshal’s convoys, however, will leave whilst the road is still closed so you can join that when it passes your location in order to get off the mountain without undue delay. The general public have to remain on the mountain until the road is opened!
The timing for the road closing operation on the mountain does vary a bit, but generally, on race days, the road from Ramsey to Bungalow closes 1hr 15mins before the main road closure, with the section from Bungalow to Creg-ny-Baa closing 15mins after that (i.e. 1hr before the main road closure). For practice sessions the equivalent times are generally 45mins before general road closure from Ramsey to Bungalow, and 30mins before general road closure from Bungalow to Creg-ny-Baa.
We will post the actual road closure times on the News section of the site once they are published. There can be delays to road closure, often due to weather, but sometimes due to incidents on the course whilst the road is still open. During an event the latest road closure news will be broadcast on Manx Radio TT. We will also try to keep you updated via our group text system.