Southern 100 2026: Racing and Things To Do

The Southern 100 is back from Monday 6th to Thursday 9th July, and the Billown roads will be doing what they do best: terrifying and thrilling in equal measure. But the racing is only half the story. From world championship skateboarding down the Mountain to blokes paddling tin baths around Castletown harbour, the island puts on a proper week. Here’s the lot.

If you have never done a Southern 100, put it on the list. Known to everyone as the Friendly Races, the meeting has been running on the Billown Course near Castletown for over 65 years, and it remains one of the best-value, best-atmosphere weeks in the road racing calendar. Close-up viewing, standing-start racing, hedges where the run-off should be, and the south of the island absolutely buzzing. This is pure road racing without the scale and the crowds of TT fortnight.

The racing

The action runs on the 4.25-mile Billown Course, a tight, fast loop of closed public roads just outside Castletown. None of the Mountain Course’s mileage here. Billown is all hedges, walls, fast kinks and a couple of corners that have made plenty of big names look ordinary.

Here’s how the week shapes up:

Monday 6th July: Newcomers and qualifying

Things kick off with newcomer familiarisation laps and the first qualifying sessions for all solo and sidecar classes. Roads close 6:00pm to 9:40pm. If you want to watch riders learn the place in real time, this is it.

Tuesday 7th July: More qualifying

Qualifying continues through the evening, roads closed again 6:00pm to 9:40pm, with everyone banking track time before the racing starts proper.

Wednesday 8th July: Racing begins (with a new morning session)

New for 2026 is a Wednesday morning session, roads closed 9:45am to 11:50am, opening with the Senior Race and a classic sidecar practice. Extra track time, and a useful bit of breathing room for the organisers if the weather plays up. Wednesday evening then delivers a packed card of solo, sidecar and lightweight races.

Thursday 9th July: Championship Day

The big one. Roads close from 9:30am until roughly 4:45pm, with a lunch break reopening them between 12:45pm and 1:30pm. A full day of racing across the 600s, Senior and lightweight classes, all building to the Solo Championship Race, the blue riband event and the one everyone wants on the CV. The meeting closes out with the second Classic Sidecar race, before the traditional open-air prize presentation in Market Square, Castletown, from 8:30pm. Worth sticking around for.

Grandstand tickets went on general sale at 7:00pm on Monday 16th June. If you want a seat, sort it sooner rather than later via the Southern 100 website.

Beyond the racing: the full island calendar

Here’s the clever bit about a Southern 100 trip. The racing is mid-week, which leaves both weekends free, and the island fills them. Whether you’re bringing someone who couldn’t care less about road racing or you just fancy more than four days of paddock chips, there’s plenty on.

Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th July

World Downhill Skateboarding Championship — TT Mountain Course. Sixty riders from around the world bombing the Mountain section between Guthrie’s and Ramsey Hairpin on skateboards. No engines, plenty of speed, and genuinely one of the most mad things you’ll see all week. New for 2026 there’s a Festival Village opposite Ramsey Bus Station with catering and entertainment. Running 10:00am to 6:00pm both days.

ACU British Enduro Championship — Ramsey. Rounds five and six of the British Timecard Enduro Championship in the north, hosted by Ramsey MCC and run by past Southern 100 champion Dave Leach. 10am starts both days, Saturday from near the Courthouse, Sunday from Mooragh Promenade, with timed tests at Ballagarraghyn and Tholt y Will.

World Tin Bath Championships — Castletown. Exactly what it sounds like. Competitors paddle tin baths 400 metres around Middle Harbour, some staying afloat better than others. Running since 1971, organised by the Castletown Real Ale Drinkers Society, pulling 100-plus entrants and raising money for local charities. There’s a Snake Race and family stuff alongside it. Entries reportedly still open if you fancy your chances. Kicks off at 2:00pm.

Sunday 5th July

Tour de Farms. A cycling day out across the Manx countryside with two new routes, three farm stops for local produce, raising funds for Hospice Isle of Man. Pedal-powered, but a good cause and a cracking way to see the island.

Southern 100 Memorial Laps & Church Service — Kirk Malew. Two memorial laps at 2:00pm followed by a 3:00pm service, with the Castletown Metropolitan Silver Band and a floral tribute. A moment to remember the riders, officials and supporters who’ve shaped the Southern 100 over the decades. Worth being there.

Demolition Derby & Stockcar Racing — Onchan. Different discipline, same appetite for noise. Oval racing at the island’s home of stockcars, all ages and abilities banging door handles. 1:30pm to 5:00pm.

Monday 6th July

Tynwald Day — St John’s. The island’s National Day, and one of the oldest continuous parliamentary ceremonies anywhere in the world, held outdoors at Tynwald Hill. Proper Manx heritage, plus entertainment, exhibitions and local produce. 9:00am to 5:00pm. If you’ve never seen it, it’s a one-off.

Jurby Transport Museum Open Day. Vintage buses, cars, trucks, model railways and a historic horse tram, with local history displays and refreshments. One for anyone who likes their machinery old and characterful. 11:00am to 4:00pm.

Southern 100 Fanzone with Bushy’s — Castletown Square. The hub for the week, running Monday through Thursday in the heart of the old capital. Live entertainment, rider appearances, interviews, race coverage, food and a pint. Where you’ll end up between sessions, basically.

Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th July

Andreas Racing Association — Jurby Circuit. The ARA’s only two-day meeting of the year, with packed solo and sidecar grids on the island’s only permanent short circuit, a former RAF airfield with its own famously kind microclimate. Fast straights, technical corners and a relaxed paddock.

Festival of the Sea — Port Erin. Manx Wildlife Trust’s seafront day out, with giant marine tanks, hands-on exhibits and family games. A gentle one for the non-racing crowd. 10:00am to 4:00pm.

Manx National 2-Day Trial. One of the biggest trials events in the British Isles, with 240 solo entries and a dozen-odd sidecar crews tackling 36 observed sections over 40-plus miles each day. Both days start from Douglas Rugby Club at Port-e-Chee, first riders out from 8am, south route Saturday, north route Sunday. Skilful, slow-speed brilliance.

Plan your week

That’s a full week of road racing, world championships of two very different kinds, ancient ceremony, a transport museum, and grown adults racing baths. The Southern 100 is the reason to go. Everything around it is the reason to make a proper holiday of it. Sort the ferry, book the digs early, and give yourself both weekends.

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