View source for Ballacraine

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Ballacraine
| image =
| caption =
| location =
| built =
| coordinates = {{coord|54|12|9.8|N|4|37|44.7|W |display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Isle of Man
}}
'''Ballacraine''' ({{IPA|gv|baləˈkʰɾɛːn|lang}}, "McCrayne" or "Craine's farm"; archaic {{lang|gv|Ballagarraghan Beg}})<ref>''Place Names of The Isle of Man – Da Ny Manninee Dooie'' Vol.1. Sheading of Glenfaba (Kirk Patrick, Kirk German, and Peel.) page 180 -182 ''Kirk German'' by George Broderick (1999) Manx Place-Name Survey, © Max Niemeyer Verlag GmbH & Co. KG Tübingen 1994 {{ISBN|3-484-40138-9}} (combined work); {{ISBN|3-484-40129-X}} (Vol. 1) Printed and bound by: Das Weihert-Druck GmbH, Darmstadt</ref> is a site on the [[TT course|Isle of Man TT course]], located between the 7th and 8th milestones of the track. It is at the junction of the [[A1 road (Isle of Man)|A1]] [[Douglas, Isle of Man|Douglas]] to [[Peel, Isle of Man|Peel]] and [[A3 road (Isle of Man)|A3]] [[Castletown, Isle of Man|Castletown]] to [[Ramsey, Isle of Man|Ramsey]] primary roads in the parish of [[German (parish)|German]]. It is now at the east end of the [[ribbon development]] of [[St John's, Isle of Man|St. John's]] village. At the junction is the former [[pub|public house]], the Ballacraine Inn, now a private residence.

==Motor sport heritage==
Ballacraine was part of the 37.50 Mile [[Four Inch Course]]  for the RAC Tourist Trophy automobile races held in the Isle of Man between 1908 and 1922.<ref>''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</ref><ref>''The Guardian'' page 14 Tuesday 4 July 1911</ref>

A section of the A3 Castletown to Peel road to Ballacraine and the Douglas to Peel road from Ballacraine to Quarterbridge, Douglas was used for the 1905 International Motor-Cycle Cup Races.<ref>''Manx Sun'' page 14 THE MOTOR CYCLES Saturday 3 June 1905</ref>

The Ballacraine sections of the A1 and A3 roads were part of the [[St. Johns Short Course]] used for the Isle of Man TT races between 1907 and 1910.<ref>''Isle of Man TT'' page 49  Ch 3. COURSES FOR HORSES ! Charles Deane Patrick Stevens Ltd (1978) Cambridge {{ISBN|0850593131}}</ref>

In [[1911 Isle of Man TT|1911]], the Four Inch Course for automobiles was first used by the Auto-Cycling Union for the [[Isle of Man TT]] motorcycle races.<ref>''Round the TT Course with Harold Daniell'' R.R. Holliday Motor Cycling (c1947) Castrol Oils  ''That Lap at 91!  Harold L.Daniell, TT Record Holder.  Tells How it was done.''</ref> This included the Ballacraine section,<ref>TT Special edited by G.S. Davison WHERE SHALL WE GO page 13 Saturday 5 June 1954</ref> and the course later became known as the 37.73 mile (60.70&nbsp;km) [[Isle of Man TT Mountain Course]]; this has been used since 1911 for the [[Isle of Man TT]] Races and from 1923 for the [[Manx Grand Prix]] races.<ref>''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}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Ballacraine Cornering.JPG|Racing motorcyclists cornering at the site of a former pub.
File:Ballacraine Approach.JPG|Racing motorcyclists approaching Ballacraine.
</gallery>

==Sources==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{Isle of Man TT Mountain Course}}
{{Isle of Man Racing Circuits}}

[[Category:Roads in the Isle of Man|Ballacraine]]