# Ballagarey Corner, Isle of Man

Ballagarey (Manx: balley-y-gharee – 'sourland, wet area farm') is located between the third and fourth milemarkers used for recognition of the Snaefell Mountain Course road-racing circuit on the primary A1 Douglas to Peel road, in the parish of Marown in the Isle of Man.

## Description

As part of a wayside residential ribbon development, Ballagarey is situated on the eastern edge of Glen Vine and Crosby villages on the primary A1 road in the Douglas-to-Peel central valley.
The nearby area is mainly farmland of Elm Bank and Ballagarey farm estates including the Baldwin Valley and with nearby summits of Greeba Mountain 1,385 feet (422 m), Slieau Ruy 1,572 feet (479 m), Colden 1,598 feet (487 m) and Slieau Ree (near to Keppel Gate) at 1,037 feet (316 m).

## Motor-Sport heritage

The Ballagarey Corner (or Elm Bank) section of the A1 Douglas to Peel road was part of the short Highland Course (40.38 miles) from 1906 and the also the 37.50 Mile Four Inch Course used for car racing including the RAC Tourist Trophy car races held between 1905 and 1922.
In 1911, the Four Inch Course was first used by the Auto-Cycling Union for the Isle of Man TT motorcycle races. This included the Ballagarey Corner and Crosby village sections and the course later became known as the 37.73 mile Isle of Man TT Mountain Course which has been used since 1911 for the Isle of Man TT Races and from 1923 for the Manx Grand Prix races.
It was the setting for a spectacular crash in 2010 when Guy Martin's race bike crashed at high speed, with a full tank of fuel after a pit stop just minutes earlier, exploding into a fireball a day after a fatal racing accident involving New Zealand rider Paul Dobbs at the same location. Keith Amor, closely following Martin, had to ride through the immediate aftermath, having been alerted by seeing smoke and trackside marshals running. Martin escaped serious injury, and after being helicopter-airlifted, recovered in hospital from bruising to both lungs and minor fractures to his upper spine.
Due to the high-speeds attained through Ballagarey during motorcycle competition, it has become known as Ballascarey. Eight riders died at the Ballagarey Corner, most recently Mark Purslow in 2022 and Gary Vines in 2023.

## Media

Ballagarey Corner featured in the Isle of Man Film CinemaNX production TT3D: Closer to the Edge after an accident to road racer Guy Martin during lap 3 of the 2010 Senior TT races caused a number of protective hay bales to be set alight by a petrol fireball.

## Sources

* ↑ The Guardian page 25 Wednesday 10 June 1981
* ↑ Place Names of The Isle of Man – Da Ny Manninee Dooie Vol.5. Sheading of Middle (Kirk Braddan, Kirk Marown, and Kirk Santan) page 153 & 154 Kirk Marown by George Broderick (2000) Manx Place- Name Survey, © Max Niemeyer Verlag GmbH & Co. KG Tübingen 2000 ISBN 3-484-40138-9 (Gesamtwerk) 3-484-40133-8 (band 5) Druck und Einband: Das Weihert-Druck GmbH Darmstadt “…Ballagarey. Bldgs. Ct. 7246 SC3378)”
* ↑ Mona’s Herald page 4 MANX INTERNATIONAL BICYCLE T.T. MARSHALS Tuesday 25 May 1954 “3-Ballagarey Corner to Appledene Corner”
* ↑ Green Final page 1 ROAD CRASH SEQUEL Saturday 8 November 1958 “….after rounding Ballagarey (or Elm Bank) corner….”
* ↑ TT Pioneers – Early Car Racing in the Isle of Man page 22 Robert Kelly, Mercury Asset Management (1996)(1st Edition) The Manx Experience, The Alden Press ISBN No 1 873120 61 3
* ↑ Isle of Man Car Races 1904–1953 page 30 by Neil Hanson (2015) Lily Publications ISBN 978-1-907945-36-6
* ↑ The Manx Experience. A Souvenir Guide to the Isle of Man. pages 66–67 Gordon N. Kniverton 8th edition The Manx Experience (1987) Mannin Publishing Ltd
* ↑ Isle of Man Times page 1 T.T. INJURED RECOVER Friday 31 July 1959 “….popular John Hartle is now fully recovered from his accident at Ballagarey corner....”
* ↑ The History of the Manx Grand Prix page 7, 8, 9 by Bill Snelling Amulree Publishing(1998) Manx Heritage Foundation ISBN 1 901508 04 8
* 1 2 Isle of Man TT: Guy Martin on danger, death and Everest BBC Sport, 25 May 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2015
* ↑ Two bikers killed in same Isle of Man TT race BBC News, Isle of Man, 11 June 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2015
* ↑ Keith Amor speaks of relief after Guy Martin survives fiery crash Crash.net 14 June 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2015
* 1 2 Big-balls corners: The Isle of Man TT’s fastest five… bikesportnews, 4 June 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2021
* ↑ Press Pack 2008, IoMTT.com, p.19 Retrieved 8 May 2021
* ↑ VIDEO: Hillier's horrifying Ballascary moment Motorcycle News, 11 June 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2021
* ↑ "Isle of Man TT: Ceredigion rider died after losing control, coroner rules". BBC News. 23 December 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
* ↑ "Manx Grand Prix 2023: Gary Vines has died". www.motorcyclenews.com. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
* ↑ Isle of Man Examiner – Brialtagh Ellan Vannin page 1 Monday 15 June 2010 Isle of Man Newspapers Ltd (2010) Johnson Press Publishing ISSN 1358-4383 "Miracle Escape – Martin left at scene with minor injuries"