Classic TT 2026: Qualifying Week Round-Up
Six days in and the Classic TT has turned a single wheel in anger only once. Weather has eaten most of the schedule, the Manx Grand Prix has lost a rider, and Wednesday afternoon finally gave us a timesheet worth looking at. Here is where the 2026 Classic TT stands.
First, the part that matters
Mauro Poncini, 29, from Caslano in Switzerland, died following an incident during Tuesday evening’s second Manx Grand Prix qualifying session. The crash happened at Cruickshanks in Ramsey on the opening lap and involved two competitors. The session was red flagged immediately at around 6.50pm. The second rider was taken to Noble’s Hospital with minor injuries.
Poncini was a Mountain Course newcomer this year, having built a reputation on the roads in Europe first. The Swiss federation described him as widely liked in the paddock and deeply committed to his racing. A multi-agency investigation is underway, which is standard procedure.
Our thoughts are with his family, his girlfriend, his team and everyone in the paddock who knew him.
It was already a rough opening. Sunday’s first session was stopped after an Italian competitor came off at Greeba Bridge on his opening lap and was airlifted to Noble’s. No detailed update on his condition has been issued since.
The weather has been the other story
Classic TT machinery did not turn a competitive lap until Wednesday afternoon. That is six days into a twelve-day meeting. Sunday and Tuesday were both cut short, Monday’s running was lost, and Wednesday evening’s session was binned before it started because heavy showers were forecast for the Mountain.
The upshot is that a lot of riders are sitting on very few laps, on bikes they have not raced for a year, on a course that punishes anyone who is not up to speed. Organisers have already bolted a contingency session onto Thursday, with roads closing at 12.30pm. Friday evening is scheduled, with a 6pm closure. Saturday carries two more Classic sessions squeezed around the Manx Grand Prix races.
Nobody is panicking yet, but the qualifying board is thin and there is not a lot of slack left in the schedule.
Wednesday afternoon: Anderson leads Formula One
When it finally went ahead, conditions were mostly decent aside from showers around Greeba, and Shaun Anderson set the marker. The Banbridge man lapped at 122.822mph on the Stanford Racing by ARD Suzuki GSX-R750 SRAD, just 0.727 seconds clear of Nathan Harrison on the Greenall Racing Kawasaki.
David Johnson was third at 122.156mph on the Steadplan Racing Kawasaki, with Jamie Coward fourth at 121.758mph despite stopping at Ballacraine on his first lap. Michael Dunlop was fifth at 121.636mph on the Team Classic Suzuki, having aborted his opening attempt with clutch bother. Dominic Herbertson completed the top six at 121.500mph.
Peter Hickman sits 18th at 114.155mph. He is out on the WRS 588cc Norton rotary for WizNorton Racing, a bike he has never raced here, at a meeting he has barely attended. Reading anything into that time would be daft.
Browne bosses the Lightweights
The Lightweight and Ultra-Lightweight classes went out first at 1.15pm. Mike Browne opened with a 115.379mph lap on the Laycock Racing Yamaha, made some changes, then went round at 116.639mph. That put him nearly 47 seconds up the road from Stuart Hall on the Whippet Racing Yamaha at 112.130mph.
Paul Jordan was a fraction behind Hall at 112.125mph, with Dunlop fourth on a single lap of 111.875mph aboard the Milenco by Padgetts Honda. Michal Dokoupil and Ryan Whitehall rounded out the top six.
Hall fell at Laurel Bank on his third lap. He was reported conscious and talking.
In the new Ultra-Lightweight class, for 400cc supersport machines and 125cc two-strokes, Manxman Paul Cassidy set the pace at 106.065mph on the Green Racing/Island Fuels Yamaha FZR400. Joe Loughlin was second at 105.657mph, back on the Mountain Course for the first time since his 2022 TT debut.
Dunlop quickest on the Royal Enfield
The Historic session was disrupted by rain at Greeba, with a dozen riders away before the rest were held at the Grandstand for roughly ten minutes. Dean Harrison and John McGuinness got out early and were left holding first-lap times of 101.353mph and 101.061mph.
Once everyone was released, Dunlop went quickest in Historic Senior at 105.690mph on the Flitwick Motorcycles/SMV Royal Enfield, 25.4 seconds clear of Conor Cummins at 103.637mph.
Herbertson topped Historic Junior at 98.284mph from Stefano Bonetti at 96.939mph. Bonetti is out on a Yamaha-powered Bimota TZ350, an entry doubling as development work for a frame based on the historic Bimota YB1.
And in the same class, Ben Birchall completed his first solo qualifying lap of the Mountain Course. The 14-time Sidecar TT winner went round at 87.852mph for 13th. That will come down.
The new Junior 600 class
Michael Russell heads the other new-for-2026 class, lapping at 114.500mph on the Complete Plumbing Solutions Yamaha YZF-R6. Brian McCormack led early on the JRC Racing R6 before Russell edged him by 0.332 seconds. Tom Robinson, Cassidy, Julien Cregniot and Barry Furber filled out the top six.
Pre-injection 600s racing the Mountain Course is a good shout, and the entry list backs it up.
What is left
Qualifying runs through Friday, with further Classic sessions slotted around the Manx Grand Prix races on Saturday 22 August. Sunday is a rest day and a contingency.
Racing proper starts for the Classic on Monday 24 August with the three-lap Historic Junior at 3pm, after the Junior and Senior MGP races. Wednesday 26 August is the big one: Formula One Classic TT at 10.15am, the TT Rewind and Classic Sidecar parade at 12.15pm, the combined Lightweight and Ultra-Lightweight races at 1.15pm, and Junior 600 at 3pm.
Friday 28 August closes it out with the Historic Senior at 10.15am, the four-lap Senior Classic TT at 1pm, and John McGuinness taking a parade lap at 3.30pm on the 2007 Fireblade he lapped at 130mph. He also has his own pop-up exhibition and cinema at the Mercury Club near the Grandstand, running daily to 28 August, free entry.
Main Grandstand access is free every day this year, race days included. If you are on the Island, use it.
Not on the Island this year? There is plenty on closer to home. Find bike nights, race meets, rallies and ride-outs near you.
