It is hard to believe that the present Southern 100 Racing Head Quarters building situated at the end of Castletown By-Pass has been there for twenty-six years!

Affectionally known to the ‘Committee’ as ‘The Hut’ – a reference to the previous green shed that sat on the same site, until it was demolished after the 1993 July races and going to a ‘good home’, having had a previous life as a builders site hut during the time when the Onchan Shopping Precinct was being built and the brick-built structure rose slowly from the ground and was fitted out ready for use at the Pre-TT Classic Road Races in 1994.

The Foundation Stone was laid on a very wet Sunday 12th December 1993 by Castletown’s then MHK, Tony Brown, watched by the then President Bob Dowty and members of the Committee.

The building was topped out by George Peach in March 1994 and ready for use for the first road races on the Billown Course, the Pre-TT Classic Road Races at the end of May.

‘The Hut’ was built through the generosity of race fans and the general public and several business donations.

One ‘special’ way of raising funds was the ‘Buy A Brick’ scheme where supporters of ‘the friendly races’ could purchase a single brick or more for £1.00 a brick – most popular was a block of twenty-five. In all over 2500 bricks were sold, and the paper donated bricks were on display in the Club HQ until it was refurbished a couple of years ago – it is now in safe storage.

The build was carried out under the supervision of then Committee man Holmes Blackburn, with many volunteers assisting where they could.

The Official Opening by Joey Dunlop took place on Sunday 29th May 1994 in the presence of Club Officials and guests.

In traditional fashion the popular Ballymoney rider and the current (1993) and five-time Southern 100 Champion unveiled a brass plaque just inside the door of the Head Quarters.

Joey went on to win a sixth Solo Championship in 1999 on the Honda RC45 and a magnificent photo is in place above the plaque, kindly donated by local photographer David Collister.

The original Shower – Toilet area soon became too small for the number of competitors attending the races and a new shower block was commissioned and built in 2008 and has since been upgraded, as have the disabled facilities.

Also upgraded over the years the ever-popular Kitchen area, which caters to serve the needs of the Competitors Paddock and spectators in general over the three race periods.

The Race Office was refurbished to make it more user friendly during the winter of 2016/2017 and with continued TLC will last Southern 100 Racing for a good number of years thus ensuring the future of ‘the friendly races’ for very many years to come and enthralling the many thousands of race fans who travel from all over the world to watch the close and exciting racing over the 4.25-mile Colas Billown Course.

The ‘Hut, Race Control and indeed the Colas Billown Course may be sleeping at present due to the Covid-19 pandemic which has caused the cancellation of all the road races on the Isle of Man (and elsewhere) for 2020, but will be back to its healthy best, all ready for the racing action commencing on Friday 28th May 2021 for the Blackford Financial Services Pre-TT Classic Road Races.

Meanwhile Southern 100 Racing hope all our friends are keeping well – stay safe and look forward to seeing you very soon.