THE very top echelon of motorcycle road racers from all over the world bring themselves, their machines and their teams to test their skills on the 37.75-mile public road circuit that is fury on two wheels. For a two week period between the last week in May and the first week in June, it’s on like Donkey Kong. The TT (Isle of Man Tourist Trophy) is the most revered motorcycle event in the world!
Hundreds of entrants risk life and limb at speeds in excess of 200 mph. In the pursuit of personal milestones and glory on the rock of dreams. This is the pinnacle of motorcycle road racing. Forget MotoGP and World Superbikes as the bravest, most courageous and skilled riders pit themselves against the ultimate test in their sport, which is simply the TT. To be counted as a finisher in this event is to be considered a winner, regardless of where each rider is placed. This event is not for the faint-hearted as it takes no prisoners. There are no sand traps, large run off areas like short circuit racing, just rock walls, manhole covers, barbed wire fences and a thousand other dangerous obstacles that add to the challenge. Riders call this stuff “street furniture”.
Riders can take three years to memorise the 250-plus corners on the circuit, and newcomers are made to wear orange jackets for identification purposes. This is the Colosseum of motorcycle road racing, where liberty means freedom. Mistakes can be fatal. All riders are aware of the risks before they open the throttle and blast down Glenclutchberry Road in 10-second intervals, for this event is a time trial held over six laps, approximately 225 miles at breakneck speed.
There is a respect among riders and spectators alike for the challenges presented by this gruelling encounter. The average lap speed gets faster each year around the course and currently sits around 137 mph with the fastest riders taking 16 minutes and 36 seconds to complete the journey. Superbike, Supersport, Supertwin, Sidecars and Superstockers are the five classes contested, with two races in each category, with the main event being the Senior TT for Superbikes.
The big three, Michael Dunlop, Dean Harrison and Peter Hickman, have been joined by rising star and winner of the 2024 Senior TT, Davey Todd, as the riders to beat. In fact, most of these riders will compete across four classes using their smarts, cunning, nous, courage and determination to shave seconds off their lap times to get to the top dias.
There’s no adequate financial reward or bag of gold at the end of the rainbow that would justify the risks involved, just respect and fulfilment for achieving the ultimate.
The Raging Bull, Michael Dunlop, a Northern Irishman, is the “King of the Road” with 29 TT wins. At 36, he has been unbeatable in the Supersport and Supertwin classes. Dunlop lives for the TT! He isn’t a media pinup boy; in fact, he has little or no time for such distractions. A down-to-earth, grassroots road racer who sits top of the heap! He has no qualms about being popular. Michael receives no special treatment, which could be seen when his team, Hawk Racing, arrived in the paddock. MD was pitching in, setting up the team tent, unloading the spare parts, just another link in the cog.
During practice week, Dunlop watches his opponents, learning their strengths and how reliable their machinery is. He holds his cards close to his chest. In 2025, Michael came out in the last qualifying session, last bike on the road, first bike on the timesheets. He gives the opposing riders no redress. This strategy is simple; whatever you can do doesn’t matter because I can go faster.
On Wednesday evening, in a practice session, the big four is reduced to three. Fourteen-time TT winner Peter Hickman loses control of his bike at 140mph on a very fast part of the circuit at Kerrow Moar. Fortunately, Hicky is alive despite facial, back and leg injuries; he lives to fight another day, but not at the 2025 meeting. The medical staff at Noble's hospital have patched him up. Battered and bruised Hicky leaves after a two-night stay. Last year, Hicky lost control at Ginger Hall, a fast sweeping left-hander at 120 mph. Maybe there’s a message; the game might have gone past him.
Up-and-comer Tom Weeden loses control of his Superbike at Glen Helen, which spits him into a wall, where he incurs multiple leg fractures. Sidecar duo, Peter Founds and Jevan Walmsley, considered a podium chance, get airborne going over Rhencullen, losing control of the chair, being spat down the road some 300 metres. Both are conscious when the orange army (sector marshals) come to their aid. Aussie Josh Brookes rolls off the throttle when he sees the red flag displayed, only to be clipped by Davey Todd, who doesn’t see the flag marshal’s signal at 176 mph. Both riders avoid injury in a close call.
Without the 600 volunteer marshals who volunteer their time, the TT wouldn’t exist. These hardy souls walk the track in a point-to-point course check, searching for and removing any loose stones and debris that may be a potential cause of an accident. Each marshall has a specific task in case of a rider having an “off”. Medics follow the riders as travelling marshals on the latest Superbikes.
Helicopters hover overhead in case an air lift to Liverpool is required.
Dean Harrison, a very popular and highly skilled factory Honda rider from Laxey, has been the fastest in Supersport practice sessions, putting in some great times. Forever the bridesmaid, Dean deserves success. Likeable team mate of Peter Hickman, the mullet, Davey Todd, appears to have the speed to challenge “The Raging Bull” in the Superbike event, but there is an underlying query about whether he can match Dunlop over six gruelling laps in the main showdown, the Senior TT.
Race One RST Superbike TT (4 laps)
Dean Harrison on his Honda sets the early pace, but by lap 2, Davey Todd and Michael Dunlop, who were both on BMW’s had gapped Harrison by 12 seconds and settled down to have a two-man war. Todd had the ascendancy by the slim margin of 2.9 seconds going into the last lap, but “The Raging Bull” was coming and coming fast. By Barregarrow, there were two-tenths of a second separating the riders. Dunlop had picked up six seconds over Todd on the second lap pitstop, but he was delayed in getting past Dean Harrison on the road through Kirk Michael. After 150 miles of spectacular action, Todd got the victory by 1.2 seconds over Michael Dunlop, with Dean Harrison third. Australian rider Davo Johnson was ecstatic, finishing fifth in this event on his under trialled Kawasaki.
Race Two Sidecar TT (2 laps).
Crowe brothers, Ryan and Callum, blitzed the Mountain Course, breaking the lap record held by Ben and Tom Birchall in an outstanding display. Thirty seconds quicker than the chasers on the first lap, the Isle of Man locals took the Sidecar event to new levels. The Crowes went round the course in 121.021 mph, winning by 77 seconds from Ben Birchall and Patrick Rosney, with Lee Crawford and Scott Hardie 17 seconds further adrift.
Race Three RST Supersport TT (3 laps)
Smarting from his narrow loss to Davey Todd in the Superbike race, Michael Dunlop was out for redemption in the first Supersport event running on the Vtwin Ducati. Again, Dean Harrison (Honda) sets the early pace, opening up a six-second advantage over Michael Dunlop on lap one, but Dunlop turned up the wick with an average speed of 130.1 mph that his opponents couldn’t match. At the finish line, winning his 30th TT, Michael Dunlop had streeted Dean Harrison by 10.2 seconds with James Hillier coming in third. This win on the Ducati was the manufacturer’s first at the TT since 1996. Dunlop’s celebrated victory was on his seventh different manufacturer’s machine.
Race Four RST Superstock TT (3 laps)
Spectators had a long wait before this event got underway, with the day session cancelled due to poor weather and the event program being pushed back to 6.30pm. Fans had been sitting in the hedges from 7am, such was their dedication. Davey Todd (BMW) took up the early lead, but Dean Harrison was carving up the track on the Honda with Michael Dunlop (BMW) close in third. On the second tour, Harrison, ever the bridesmaid, got the bit between his teeth and overtook Todd to record a popular victory by 11.6 seconds with Dunlop 20 seconds further back in third. With 28 podiums in his career, Harrison had just notched up three wins, so his fourth victory was richly deserved.
Race Five RST Supertwin TT(2 laps)
As the evening closed in, the Supertwins set off on their two-lapper in fading light. The Supertwins make an awesome sound as they thunder by, truly thrilling the spectators. In this event, Michael Dunlop on a Paton set up a two-second lead in the first sector and a ten-second lead by the end of lap one. Although Michael Evans (Kawasaki) was pushing hard, the Northern Irishman had all the answers as he so often does, coasting to the line to win by 22.6 seconds. The real scrap was for the minor placings on the podium, with Rod Hodson (Paton) just 1.7 seconds clear of Paul Jordan (Aprilla) in third.
Race Six RST Supersport TT (4 laps)
After a long day with rain interruptions, the second Supersport race for the week commenced in the evening session. Michael Dunlop riding the 955cc Ducati V2 Panigale showed a clean pair of heels to the rest of the field, recording a no-fuss 26-second win to claim his third TT of the week. Dean Harrison and Davey Todd on Honda 600RRs were second and third, with 15 seconds separating the pair. Dunlop had raked in his 32 TT victory!
Race Seven Superstock TT (3 laps)
Dean Harrison completed the Superstock double, taking out the second race in this class. Challengers, Davey Todd and Michael Dunlop, could not keep up with the Laxey rider, who recorded his fifth TT win of his career. Dunlop lost valuable time at Braddan Bridge on the opening lap when his BMW was stuck in fourth gear, causing him to overrun the corner. Being 15 seconds down, the Northern Irishman was never going to make up this time; however, he did finish in third place, recording his 50th TT podium from 83 starts. Davey Todd, also on a BMW, was second as Harrison wound off the throttle to win by 16 seconds. Rider Mark Parrett, in his 98th start at the TT, had his arm broken at the Creg Ny Baa by a low-flying seagull in a bird strike! Such is the TT!
Race Eight Sidecar TT (3 laps)
The Crowe brothers, fresh from a resounding victory in race one, strolled around the mountain course to win race two by 60 seconds from Ben Birchall and Patrick Rosney, who could do nothing to bridge the gap. With changes to regulations relating to reduced engine capacity for 2026, the Crowe brothers, locals on the Isle of Man, are likely to hold this lap record for quite some time.
Race Nine Supertwin TT (3 laps)
Michael Dunlop remained untouchable in this class, building a steady lead on lap one to eventually run to the finish line a 26.7-second winner from Davey Todd, who briefly threatened the Northern Irishman. Padgett’s team boss, Clive Padgett, had gone all out to challenge Dunlop by purchasing a Paton 800, the same bike as Michael Dunlop rides to take it up to “The Raging Bull”! However, Padgett’s pilot Davey Todd, remarked, “that the two bikes were definitely very different in their specifications”. Popular TT rider Dominic Herbertson claimed his third career podium, taking third in this encounter. TT legend Michael Rutter didn’t come round for his third circuit. He has left the bike at the 31st milestone, a very fast part of the circuit. Luckily, Rutter is conscious but taken to Nobles hospital by helimed to undertake further triage in the fading light.
Race 10 Senior TT (6 laps)
The race every rider wants to win was marred by time delays due to poor overnight weather conditions. Race organisers put the start time back two hours, which then became four hours waiting for the road surface to be completely dry. Michael Dunlop, Dean Harrison and Davey Todd had left little for the other riders in terms of podium positions to snatch in previous races and with 1.3 seconds separating Dunlop and Todd in race one, the patient spectators were looking forward to this clash. All to no avail as the Clerk, of course, Gary Thompson declared a no race after riders returned from a sighting lap at 6pm due to treacherous and unpredictable winds.
The TT, although severely marred by the weather conditions over the two weeks, had produced another stunning four victories for Michael Dunlop and two popular wins for Dean Harrison. Both definitely riders of the meeting!