Latest news with #TT
Belfast Telegraph
7 hours ago
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
Michael Dunlop tops final qualifying session with 132mph Superbike lap as focus turns to races
Dunlop will have two chances to achieve the milestone, with the first Supersport race also scheduled to take place on Monday afternoon after the organisers confirmed a three-race programme, with the opening Sidecar event sandwiched between the Superbike and Supersport races. The Superbike race (10:45am) has been cut from six laps to four, with the Sidecar race over three laps pencilled in for 1:15pm, followed by the first Supersport race at 3pm (3 laps). All three races were originally scheduled to run over the weekend, but adverse weather on the Isle of Man resulted in a series of delays and cancellations last week, with the organisers running more qualifying sessions on Saturday and Sunday to make up for lost time. Dunlop set a record of 29 TT wins during a memorable week in 2024, surpassing his uncle Joey's 24-year-old lap record of 26 victories. The Ballymoney man has been gradually getting up to speed on his new ROKiT BMW Superbike at the TT and recorded the fastest lap of Sunday's qualifying session – and his fastest overall so far this year – at 132.03mph. Dunlop was leading the Superbike race last year by around 25 seconds until his lead was blown when he stopped to adjust an incorrectly fastened visor after his final pit stop. He will be out to make amends, but Davey Todd (8TEN Racing BMW) and Dean Harrison (Honda Racing UK) provide formidable opposition. Harrison set the fastest lap of TT qualifying overall at 133mph on his Superbike machine last Wednesday, while Todd also managed a 133mph lap, albeit on his Superstock machine. Todd will be carrying the hopes of 8TEN Racing on his shoulders today after team-mate Peter Hickman was ruled out of the TT following his crash in qualifying on Friday. Hickman came off at Kerrowmoar and sustained chest, back, shoulder and facial injuries. The 14-time TT winner was yesterday discharged from hospital and posted an update on social media claiming he planned to return to the event in 2026. 'Well this isn't quite how I'd planned my TT to go!' Hickman said. 'Had a bit of a get off on Friday night… Nothing quite like a 140mph slap against the Manx countryside. Battered and bruised, but we'll be back.' He added: 'A massive thanks to the amazing IOM TT marshals, the TT medical team, and staff at Noble's Hospital.' Dunlop will be going for a seventh successive Supersport victory this afternoon as he bids to win on a Ducati for the first time. He has made the switch from Yamaha machinery and won on the Italian Panigale V2 bike at the North West 200 last month. In qualifying, he was second fastest with a 127.739mph lap on Friday behind British Supersport contender Harrison, whose 128.093mph lap was a qualifying record. Todd is another leading contender on the Milenco by Padgett's Honda, while top-six challengers include the likes of Josh Brookes, James Hillier, James Hind, Paul Jordan and Ian Hutchinson. On Sunday, the Sidecar session was stopped after a red flag crash involving leading competitors Peter Founds and Jevan Walmsley at Rhencullen. Both competitors were airlifted to hospital and a statement from the organisers said: 'Peter Founds and Jevan Walmsley, sidecar outfit number 2, came off at Rhencullen during lap two of the fifth qualifying session of TT 2025. 'Peter is reported as conscious and talking, with arm injuries. Passenger, Jevan, is reported as conscious and talking, with no reported injuries. 'Both Peter and Jevan have been taken to Noble's Hospital by Airmed for further assessment. 'Further condition updates will be provided in due course.' Manx crew Ryan and Callum Crowe are the Sidecar favourites after winning both races in 2024 and recording the fastest lap in qualifying at 119.37mph. The weather is forecast to be dry and bright today, however a yellow warning for gales on the island comes into place tonight from 9pm, with heavy rain also expected overnight.
ITV News
11 hours ago
- Sport
- ITV News
'It's astonishing': Richard Hammond witnesses Isle of Man TT for the very first time
Richard Hammond speaks to Isle of Man Correspondent Joshua Stokes Broadcaster Richard Hammond has described the the Isle of Man TT as 'astonishing' as he witnessed the action for the very first time. The TV presenter watched from the roadside during Saturday afternoon's qualifying session. He said: "It's been epic thus far. I have to say 39 years I've been riding motorcycles - they're a huge part of my life. This, I'm slightly ashamed to say, is my first ever TT and it's everything I thought it would be. "Some things match up to expectations, some things don't - this does. Not only the racing which I watched some of this afternoon before the weather changed its mind, but it's extraordinary. "I mean, I love riding motorcycles on the road, but it's a two worlds I'm familiar with the kind of almost suburban world and motorsports and mushed them together to create a spectacle unlike anything that I've ever seen. "Watching somebody cross a junction, up to a traffic-lighted junction, the suspension, compressing out as they're going an impossible speed - it's kind of other-worldly - I loved it". Hammond also took the opportunity to engage in other activities outside of the racing. On Sunday 1 June, he led the 'TT Legacy Lap', which saw hundreds of bikers ride around the 37 and three-quarter- mile Mountain Course on their own motorbikes. The annual lap has grown into a shared celebration of people, stories, and machines that have shaped the heritage of the TT. Hammond rode his own bike, in damp conditions, for the speed-controlled lap. The Isle of Man TT sees bikers ride at speeds over 200mph on public roads, in what Hammond described as a 'spectacle unlike anything I've ever seen'. He said: "I really can barely comprehend doing those speeds in this environment. And I've done 200mph on a motorcycle, I've done 320mph in a car, but neither instance was through suburbia! There's lamp posts out there, and manhole covers. "And it's just honestly, it's one of the last great almost gladiatorial where there's no combat, but it's people fighting fear. It's astonishing, it really is. I'm so glad it still exists and long may it." The Isle of Man TT continues until Saturday 7 June, where the event concludes with the final 6-lap Senior TT race. Want more on the issues effecting the North? Our podcast, From the North answers the questions that matter to our region.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Sunday's TT qualifying underway after delay
Sunday's qualifying session for the Isle of Man TT was delayed after rain showers in the east of the island. The race schedule for the event, which had been due to begin on Saturday, was pushed back to Monday after a series of weather disruptions during the opening week. Advertisement Organisers announced Sunday's road closures would be used for additional qualifying after poor visibility on the mountain section of the course brought Saturday's action to a halt. But the latest session was also hit by poor conditions on parts of the 37.7-mile (61km) TT course, with the start time pushed back to 14:30 BST while an inspection took place. Sunday's revised schedule 14:30 - Sidecar 15:35 - Superbike and Superstock 16:15 - Supersport and Supertwin Roads around the course are due to open no later than 18:30. This year's event started on 26 May and is due to continue until 7 June. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X. More on this story Related internet links
BBC News
20 hours ago
- Lifestyle
- BBC News
Campsite pays tribute to 'favourite' Isle of Man TT stalwart
The owners of a campsite on the Isle of Man have paid tribute to their "favourite" TT visitor by displaying the bike he rode on and pitching his tent in the same Crate, who died in January aged 88, had stayed at the Glen Lough campsite in Union Mills for 45 Quayle, whose family has run the site for 90 years, said Mr Crate from London was "not just a camper, he was one of our best friends".He was an "amazing man" and he loved travelling on his white BMW sidecar to the festival each year, Mr Quayle said. His tent was always pitched in the same place on the camping site, near to other legacy guests, so Mr Quayle and his wife Sheila wanted to do the same again this year - the first TT after his death - in his honour to remember the vehicle was left to the family, it was decided the sidecar should also be parked up in its usual spot alongside the tent. Mr Quayle said the campsite, which tends to reach capacity over the first race weekend of the festival, sees "lots of people that come back year after year" but Mr Crate had become his "favourite camper"."We have so many great stories and memories of him here," he said."He wore an Isle of Man TT t-shirt every day of his life and when he went on his last journey the sound of a Senior TT race was played at his funeral."He loved the racing and the campsite, so it was only right we set up his pitch as usual," Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
Belfast Telegraph
a day ago
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
Davey Todd sets fastest lap of qualifying so far at over 133mph before weather wipes out Saturday schedule
The team, co-owned by Todd and Peter Hickman, was left reeling after Hickman crashed during qualifying on Friday evening, suffering injuries that have ruled him out of the event. Todd lapped at 133.155mph on his BMW Superstock machine from a standing start, which was marginally faster than Honda Racing rider Dean Harrison's 133.069mph lap set in Wednesday's first qualifying session on his second flying lap on the CB1000RR Superbike. Todd will be shouldering 8TEN Racing's TT hopes on his own after Hickman's misfortune and has been in eye-catching form during a disrupted practice week, with the weather causing all kinds of problems for the organisers. The first Supersport and Sidecar races were originally due to have been held on Saturday, but a qualifying session was pencilled in instead, with Saturday's races moved to Monday – initially set to be a rest day for competitors on the island. The weather again stopped play on Saturday after riders had completed two laps, with visibility problems on the Mountain section of the 37.73-mile course and rain showers leading Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson to cancel the schedule. Todd claimed the top spot overall after his Superstock lap from Harrison, who did 132.484mph from a standing start, and Michael Dunlop, who banked his first 130mph lap of qualifying on his new ROKiT BMW Superbike (130.762mph). Dunlop also did a lap on his MD Racing BMW Superstock machine at 130.262mph despite yellow flag conditions from the Bungalow onwards because of fading visibility. Paul Jordan (Jackson Racing Honda by Prosper 2) set his fastest TT lap of 2025 so far at 128.694mph, which left him fourth fastest behind Dominic Herbertson (128.737mph) on the HRRC/Adam Hewitt Ltd Honda. Manx riders Nathan Harrison (28.501mph) and Conor Cummins (128.389mph) were fifth and sixth respectively. Cummins is riding for Ulster team Burrows Engineering/RK Racing on BMW and Ducati machinery and his 131mph lap during Friday's qualifying session was the fastest at the TT by any rider for the Dungannon-based team. Following Satudrday's s cancellation, the Superbike race – due to have taken place on Sunday – has been replaced with more qualifying sessions instead. A new race schedule for Monday is set to be announced by the organisers as they try to mitigate the impact of a week of unsettled weather on the Isle of Man.
