At the eye-popping speeds these riders reach, it would only take a two-second detour from the start line on Glencrutchery Road to reach the iron gates just 100 metres away.It is not something those waiting to start their qualifying lap of the Isle of Man TT course care to dwell upon, but it was the final stop for many racers now buried in the sprawling Douglas Borough cemetery beyond those gates (you can see it in the video below).“It was always the other guys who could get hurt. The others who might die — but not me,” says former champion Klaus Klaffenbock. “That was my outlook before racing. If you are scared, it’s better you stop.”Over this week and next, thousands of spectators will travel to this island in the middle of the Irish Sea for a racing festival that has claimed lives in almost every year of its 119-year history.On Thursday, a debuting rider, Daniel Ingham, 33, died after being involved in a crash during qualifying. It was the first death on the course in two years.Spectators come from around the world to watch a series of races on the 37.73-mile (just under 61 km) course, along closed public roads, with fans able to watch up close from hedges, verges and viewing platforms around the island and its quaint villages.“There’s no other race where you can sit in a hedgerow and watch the bikes go past metres from you,” says Lee Baker, who has ridden his bike over from the UK mainland. “You can smell the petrol and feel the heat from the bike on your skin as it races past. It’s extraordinary.”Competitors reach top speeds in excess of 200mph (321kmph), and the TT (Tourist Trophy) main event is the most exhilarating and potentially lethal road race in the world, with 271 deaths between it and the annual August Manx Grand Prix.The high-stakes drama has come to Hollywood’s attention. This week, Brad Pitt and Channing Tatum have been on the island filming scenes for a movie about the race, set to emulate the former’s recent hit drama F1 (Tatum is the star this time; Pitt a producer).