Michael Dunlop celebrates winning the Monster Energy Supersport race. Photo: Impact Images/Tim Keaton
Isle of Man TT 2024. The 103rd running of the famous festival of motorcycle road racing is underway, with Michael Dunlop claiming a record 26th victory on Saturday.
The victory puts him level with uncle Joey Dunlop as the most successful rider in the world. The event's 114-year history
Here's everything you need to know about each race, who to watch out for and how to follow this year's event.
What is the Isle of Man TT ?
Within two weeks, the Isle of Man closed public roads and became one of the fastest race tracks in the world.
The TT features five different categories, which will be contested twice over eight days this year. Solo riders will jump between Superbike, Superstock, Supersport and Supertwin machines, while sidecar riders will team up with a passenger for two races.
All races are run in a time trial format, with riders departing from the grandstand start line at 10-second intervals and covering the nearly 38-mile course up and over Mount Snaefell before returning to the finish line. Time is recorded at five locations around the island: Glen Helen, Ballough, Ramsey, Bungalow, Cronk-ni-Mona and Grandstand.
Michael Dunlop won the RST Superbike race last year, his 23rd win in total, making him equal with John McGuinness as the second most successful TT rider ever.
Events are heavily dependent on the weather and there can be long delays, especially if public roads are used during the two weeks when racing is not taking place: oil spills, parked cars and wild animals are common.
Where can I watch this?
For many years, TT coverage was only available as part of the main TV shows on ITV4 each evening. But for the 2022 edition, TT organizers have unveiled new plans to provide live streaming online via TT+ Live Pass, which will return again in 2024
Access costs a one-off fee of £19.99 for two weeks, including coverage of all qualifying and race sessions, daily highlights and documentaries.
< p>End of the day highlights continue to be shown on ITV4 every evening.
You can also follow race week with Telegraph Sport.
Isle of Man TT 2024 schedule and resultsSaturday June 1
Monster Energy Supersport Race One (4 laps)
Michael Dunlop rushes past the audience. Photo: ManxPhotosOnline/Dave Kneen
Michael Dunlop claimed his record 26th Isle of Man TT victory with a hard-fought win in the week's opening Monster Energy Supersport race, leveling him with uncle Joey Dunlop as the most successful rider in the competition. 114-year history.
As he entered the winner's area on Saturday, the Northern Irishman slammed his fist on the fuel tank of his MD Racing Yamaha R6 and looked up to the sky. The emotion of the moment was revealed for the first time by the boisterous fans who celebrated his victory.
The 35-year-old from Ballymena claimed his 12th Supersport win since his debut in 2009, his fifth in a row in the class, and His 26 overall wins in 15 years came nine years faster than Joey, who took his last TT victory in 2000 at the age of 48, three weeks before his tragic death while racing in Estonia.
“This is fantastic. “Tying Joey's record is something I've been thinking about all week, just like everyone else,” Dunlop said afterward.
“No matter what was going on in life, everyone wanted to get to that record, and Now I've done it, so it's something special.” Dunlop admitted it took him “a few laps to work out” his rhythm, allowing rivals Dean Harrison and Davey Todd to swap the lead in the first half of the first lap.
But when Dunlop took the lead under Ballo on lap two, the stars appeared to be aligned for TT's favorite son, whose father Robert and brother William also competed before they were involved in fatal accidents in 2008 and 2018, respectively.
Harrison's first lap of 128.037 mph was better than Dunlop's second round, with an average lap speed of 128.833 mph, giving him a slight lead of 4.559 seconds as the leaders pitted. Any fears that Dunlop's aggressive riding style would take the life out of his rear tire, which had not been changed during the only stop in the supersport category, proved unfounded as he controlled the lead over Todd, who followed Dunlop past Harrison as the latter's challenge began to fade.
Dunlop didn't have it his way, with Todd chipping away at the lead in the first half of lap three to fuel hopes of a battle to the finish. But he barely budged a wheel and quickly extended his lead, 8.574 seconds ahead of British Superbike regular Todd, with the fastest lap of the race at 190.214mph.
Result
3wheeling.media Sidecar TT Race 1 (3 laps)
There was a notable absence from the grid for Saturday's second race, with 14-time TT winner Ben Birchall unable to start the first sidecar race of the week with passenger Kevin Russo due to injuries sustained in a crash during qualifying. It meant there would be a new winner for the first time in 12 races after the dominance of the Birchall brothers, Ben and Tom, the latter of whom retired from the TT this year.
But even if they had been on the grid, Birchall and Russo would have faced a tough ask to stop the Crowe brothers Ryan and Callum, who set a blistering pace from the start and led by more than half a minute before easing off and taking the win by more than 26 seconds, setting a best lap of 119.800 in the process.
Result
Sunday, June 2
RST Superbike TT (6 laps)
Michael Dunlop saw his bid for Isle of Man TT history derailed by a loose visor as problems for both the Northern Irishman and his rival Davey Todd brought Peter Hickman wins the RST Superbike race.
British Superbike regular Hickman secured his 14th TT victory on Sunday, putting motorcycle racing great Mike Hawthorn in the overall winners' list in a thrilling race that saw Dunlop, Todd and Honda Racing's Dean Harrison battle for the lead in the first four laps of the six-lap race.< /p>
Hickman came into the race with a burning imagination that he had become the best man on big bikes in recent years and set the pace in practice. But it was TAS Racing BMW's Todd who took the first lap at 134.417 mph from a standing start.
Dunlop, fresh from his record 26th victory in Saturday's Supersport race, was again victorious. on pace and passed Todd Ballo on the second lap for the lead as the leaders pitted at a recorded speed of 135.543 mph at the end of the second lap.
While Hickman and Harrison were fighting for third place, Dunlop began to pull away from Todd and by the end of the third lap he had increased his lead to 17 seconds, and on the fourth lap he pitted for the second time with a gap of 25 seconds and had every chance of breaking the all-time TT race win record held jointly with his uncle Joey Dunlop.
But both Dunlop and Todd would see their race derailed by a botched pit stop: first Todd's BMW failed to retire, delaying his departure, and Dunlop suffered helmet problems that left him The Northern Irishman stopped at Bray Hill and took it off to fix a faulty visor.
This meant that after Glen Helen on lap five, Harrison inherited a 1.1 second lead over Hickman, with Todd and Dunlop a further 10 and 29 seconds behind. FHO BMW's Hickman would overtake Harrison with help from Ramsey and hold the lead until the checkered flag, with Todd moving up to second again on the final lap for his best TT result and Harrison holding on to third despite an attacking Dunlop setting a new record superbike lap. with an average final lap speed of 135.970mph.
Result
Tuesday 4 June
11:45am: RL360 Superstock TT Race 1 (3 laps)
Super stock cars are equipped with production bikes with displacement 1000 cc engine, which have stricter technical regulations than superbikes to bring them closer to the production versions seen in showrooms across the country. The engine, frame and electronics should remain standard, although slick tires are now permitted.
14:00: Metzeler Supertwin TT Race 1 (3 laps)
The clue is in the name. The supertwin class features twin-cylinder 700 cc motorcycles that produce around 90 hp. on a medium weight frame. Slower top speeds have a much greater impact on driver style than in the larger categories, with Dunlop winning again last year.
Wednesday 5 June
11:45: 3wheeling.media Sidecar TT Race 2 (3 laps)
The second Sidecar TT race of the week in 2023 proved to be a nail-biting campaign, with the Birchalls beating the pair by just nine seconds. Peter Founds and Jevan Walmsley, who will return in 2024 and will try to end a streak of five consecutive podium finishes without a win.
14:00: Monster Energy Supersport TT Race 2 (4 laps)Dunlop completed the third Superport double of his 2023 career by winning on dirt in the second race, a repeat of the podium finish in the first race.
Friday 7 June
11:45: PE Superstock TT Race 2 (3 laps)
Like Dunlop, Hickman took trophies in both Superstock races last year, leading to his first TT win in 2018 and since Since then, he has dominated the field, winning every time he competes. The Class of 2023 proved to be particularly memorable as Hickman made history by becoming the first person to break the lap record of 136 mph, setting a record lap speed of 136.358 mph.
14:00: Full cover insurance Supertwin TT Race Two (3 laps)
The Supertwins category has favored smaller riders in recent years, but the form was thrown out for the second race in 2023 when the Lincolnshire native's height The 6'2″ took his first class win.
Saturday, June 8
Milwaukee Senior TT (6 laps)
Big race of the week brings down the curtain on Hickman's TT , Harrison, Dunlop Todd is also expected to compete for top honors. Hickman has been the man to beat in the seniors, winning four of the last five races and losing only to Harrison in 2019.
How many riders have died?
Without the TT it wouldn't be the problem it is. its level of risk and danger. A total of 269 riders and passengers have died on the Snaefell Mountain Course, which hosts the TT races as well as the Manx Grand Prix and Classic TT.
On the TT course alone, 156 people have died in accidents. .
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