2019 TT RACES SCHEDULE SET TO HERALD MORE SPECTACULAR RACING

A week of qualifying, which for 2019 begins on Saturday 25th May, often merely hints at the spectacular racing to follow as riders and their teams get to grips with their machines and come to terms with the challenge of racing on the TT Mountain Course.

Although this June’s spectacular meeting is still fresh in the memory, where the nine races saw new lap and race records being set in every class, culminating in Peter Hickman’s coruscating Senior TT victory which required him to set a new outright lap record of 135.452mph, the unchanged race schedule already turns attention to the future.

The four race days – which feature seven solo and two sidecar races – get underway with the impressive sight of the obscenely powerful Superbike machines being wrestled for six laps around the 227 bends of the 37 mile circuit in the RST Superbike Race on Saturday 1st June. These high performance, race modified machines reach speeds nudging 200mph at the fastest points of the course, treating spectators who line the hedges and pack the grandstands to one of the greatest sights in world sport.

Saturday’s opening race is followed in the afternoon by the first sidecar race – with the TT races widely regarded as the most prestigious title in Sidecar racing in the world. Current FIM World Champions Ben and Tom Birchall have dominated TT sidecar racing in recent years winning the last four races and setting an incredible new outright lap record of 119.250mph on the way to last year’s double win.

Monday’s race programme opens with the nimbler, lighter more agile Supersport bikes for the first of the two Monster Energy backed races. Featuring a mix of 600cc twin cylinder and 675cc three cylinder machines, , the Supersport races are always close fought affairs as riders manoeuvre the bikes using every inch of the road to gain the slightest advantage.

Monday’s programme also includes the RL360 Superstock Race which features the 1000cc sports bikes –in a similar specification that you could take away from your local dealer. Despite the lack of race spec modifications these production machines are delivering similar results to the Superbike class with Peter Hickman’s new class record of 134.403mph set last year, being less than eight seconds slower than his fastest Superbike lap.

The second Supersport Race is the opening race on Wednesday 5th June before fans are treated to a glimpse of the future with the clean emission electric bike SES TT Zero Race. In recent years this race has been dominated by the Japanese Mugen team who are the current lap record holders and have won every race since 2014. However a number of British University teams have delivered no less spectacular results and Nottingham University have emerged as the closest challengers, splitting the two Mugen factory bikes in 2018 on their way to second place with a lap of 119.294mph – the second fastest in history.

Wednesday’s race day culminates with the Bennetts Lightweight TT. This class, which has run in various guises since its inception in 1922, was reintroduced in 2012 and now features twin cylinder 650cc Supertwin machines. Largely dominated by the Japanese Kawasaki marque since the class reinvention, last year’s race saw Michael Dunlop power to victory with a factory backed Paton to wrest the honours to Italy.

The 2019 TT Race meeting reaches its climax on Friday 7th June with the final two Races – the second Sidecar TT Race and the traditional curtain closer; the PokerStars Senior TT. Not only is it the last chance for riders to make their mark at the meeting but also offers the opportunity for a decisive conclusion to the solo and sidecar Championships based on points accumulated over the course of the meeting. Traditionally both races have featured the fastest times of the week with the Senior - as happened last year – searing spectacular racing into the annals of history.