Guthrie's Memorial

Infobox TT course
Name = Guthrie's Memorial

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Caption = TT Race Marshall Signal Box on the A18 Mountain Road looking north towards Guthrie's Memorial and the Point of Ayre
Latitude = 54.294
Longitude = -4.406
OSgridref = SC435914
Parish = Lezayre
Distance =
Precedes = 26th Milestone
Follows = Mountain Mile

Guthrie's Memorial is a S-bend corner on the primary A18 Mountain Road in the parish of Lezayre in the Isle of Man between the 26th and 27th Milestone Isle of Man TT road-side markers on the Snaefell Mountain Course.

This S-bend corner was part of the Highland Course and Four Inch Course used for the Gordon Bennett Trial and Tourist Trophy automobile car races held in the Isle of Man between 1904 and 1922. Also, Guthrie's Memorial is part of the Mountain Course used since 1911 for the Isle of Man TT and Manx Grand Prix Races.

The A18 Mountain Road was developed in the mid-nineteenth century from a number of pre-existing roads and paths. This included the building of a number of sheep-gates including the East Mountain Gate, the Beinn-y-Phott sheep-gate and Keppel Gate. The primary road A18 Mountain Road section road from Keppel Gate to Park Lewellyn is a product of the Disaforesting Commission of 1860 ["Manx Milestones" by Stuart Slack pp58 (1st Edition)(2003)The Manx Experience ISBN 1 873 120 58 3] which includes the distinctive road embankments which gave this S-bend corner the previous name of "The Cutting." The nearby revetment and embankment at the 27th Milestone is sometimes informerly referred to as 'Guthries Bridge'. The western side embankment at Guthrie's Memorial was removed during the winter of 2004/2005 by the Isle of Man Department of Transport as a road traffic improvement.

During the 1937 Isle of Man TT Races, Jimmie Guthrie won the Junior TT but retired on lap 5 of the 1937 Senior TT race at "The Cutting" on the A18 Mountain Road section of the course. After his death while competing in the 1937 German Grand Prix, a memorial was erected to him in 1939. Paid for by public subscription the memorial was built at the spot where he retired in his last Isle of Man TT Race. "The Cutting" has been called Guthrie's Memorial ever since. The inscription on the memorial reads as follows;-

cquote
"James Guthrie 1897-1937"

"Erected to the memory of Jimmy Guthrie, of Hawick, a brilliant Motor Cycle Rider, famous on the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Course from his wonderful riding and great sportsmanship. He won the race six times, beat many world records and was the first in numerous foreign races. He died while upholding the honour of his country in the Germany Grand Prix, August 1937."

A further memorial was created on the Hohenstein-Ernstthal or Sachsenring course in 1949 at the site of the fatal accident and is called the "Guthrie Stone."

ources

* History of the Isle of Man TT Races 1907-1989 by Nick Harris.

External links

* [http://www.iomtt.com/TT-2009/Circuit-Guide/Competitors/Cruickshanks-Guthries.aspx Cruickshanks to Guthries] with Steve Hislop, 11 times TT winner
* [http://www.iomtt.com/TT-2009/Circuit-Guide/Spectators/The%20Gooseneck%20to%20The%20Black%20Hut.aspx TT Spectator Guide Section The Gooseneck to The Black Hut]
* [http://www.iomtt.com/TT-2009/Circuit-Guide.aspx Map of course]