2026 Isle of Man TT: Opening race delayed, new schedule announced
The opening race of TT 2026 has been delayed due to the weather
The first race of the 2026 Isle of Man TT has been hit with a delay due to low cloud, with the Superstock contest now scheduled for 12pm local time.
Race week at the Isle of Man TT is due to begin today (Saturday 30 May) with the first three-lap Superstock contest of the event.
Originally scheduled for 11am local time, organisers have announced a one-hour delay to Saturday’s programme due to low cloud around the Mountain Course.
Roads around the mountain will begin to close on time, but the rest of the course will remain open until at least 11am local time.
A brief statement from the TT read: “Mountain Road is now beginning to close.
“Due to low cloud, all roads on the TT Mountain Course will close at 11:00.
“The RL360 Superstock TT Race 1 is now scheduled to begin at 12:00.”
In a change from last year, the 1000cc bikes will open up the race schedule in 2026, with the Superstock class taking over from Supersport as the curtain-raiser.
It will mark the first of two Superstock races set to take place this week, with racing continuing on Sunday with the six-lap Superbike TT.
There was due to be the first of the Sidecar races on Saturday. However, organisers confirmed on Thursday that the class was being suspended for the rest of 2026.
This followed an airborne crash for the Crowe brothers on Wednesday evening, which was similar to an incident Jevan Walmsley and Peter Founds had last year.
Isle of Man TT clerk of the course Gary Thompson noted on Friday that a full review and consultation process for the Sidecar class will take place after the event in order to try to preserve it for the future.
The final day of qualifying on Friday took place without a hitch, with Honda’s Dean Harrison leading the way with the first 135mph lap of the meeting.
Harrison, who won both Superstock races last year, set that 135mph lap on his Superstock-spec bike and comes into Saturday’s contest as the favourite.
Should there be no further schedule delays, there is due to be racing on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday over the next week.
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