Next year’s Isle of Man TT Races will take on a slightly different look, with a revised race format which sees the showcase Senior TT moved forward in race week, while the two Carole Nash Sportbike TTs get extended from three to four laps. The new schedule continues to deliver racing over two weekends, while allowing greater flexibility to move racing around in case of bad weather and red flag incidents.
TT organisers brought in a 10-race format in 2023. It should have offered more action for riders and fans, but most of the intervening years have seen difficulties completing a full race programme due to bad weather. This year saw just five races run, with only one – the six-lap RST Superbike TT - going the scheduled distance and the result of the Milwaukee Senior declared after just one lap. The new format will see one less race, with only one Superstock TT instead of two, but the new schedule allows for more flexibility and greater contingency
Qualifying will be unchanged, taking place from Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June, using the same format and session structure used in this year’s sun soaked practice week.
Racing is slated to start with the six-lap RST Superbike TT on Saturday 5 June. Traditionally the opener, the superbike race had been moved to day two in recent years – with the first Supersport and Sidecar TTs starting the action. Sunday sees the first four-lap Monster Energy Supersport TT for the middleweight bikes as the sole race, a sensible move considering the time roads are allowed to be closed for racing is less on Sundays than on any other day.
If the weekend racing goes ahead as planned then Monday will be a rest day, otherwise it can be used, weather permitting, to catch up on any postponed TTs.
Tuesday should see the RL360 Superstock TT, which next year will see one four-lap race rather than two three-lappers, with the first Motul Sidecar TT provisionally set to take place in the afternoon. Sidecars missed TT 2026 after a number of high profile accidents in practice saw the suspension of the class. TT officials are currently looking at the future of the three-wheelers and are carrying out a series of technical, operational and governance tasks with the expectation of a modified set of regulations being introduced. For TT 2027, they’ll have two races over a reduced distance of two laps in what looks like being a transitional year for the sidecars.
Transition was the name of the game in the lightweight solo class this year, with a new ‘Sportbike’ class being introduced alongside the existing Supertwin machines. Michael Dunlop won the sole Carole Nash Sportbike TT to beat the weather on his Supertwin-spec Paton earlier this year, but it will be all change in 2027 as the category moves exclusively to Sportbike specifications – bikes which are not quite as powerful but which should lead to a more affordable entry, making for a bigger and more diverse entry list in 2027. The sportbikes will get two TTs over four-laps, a lap longer than previously, with the first setting off down Bray Hill after the second Supersport TT on Wednesday 9 June.
Thursday is another contingency day, with no racing programmed, but the big change sees the six-lap Milwaukee Senior TT brought forward a day to Friday. Traditionally the Senior was held on a Friday and was the festival closing blue riband race. It was moved to Saturday when the programme was expanded in 2023, but the past few years have seen the race savaged by the weather.
The last two years have seen the race distance cut due to weather delays, with last year’s winner Dean Harrison awarded the win after just one lap. By moving the race to Friday, organisers have the contingency to move things around if need be. Roads will be closed for racing on Saturday anyway, with a second Sidecar TT in the morning – before the second Carole Nash Sportbike TT brings the curtain down on the motorcycle racing’s most unique event.
TT 2027 marks the 100th running of the iconic Senior TT, the most prestigious single race in motorcycle road racing, and organisers are working on a series of activities to celebrate the history and significance of the race. Plans are underway for a specially curated exhibition, archive films, new features and interviews with former winners will tell the story of the Senior TT, from its earliest years through the Hailwood, Dunlop and Hislop eras and into the modern age of 130mph-plus laps, with a full anniversary programme set to be announced closer to the event.
Talking about the changes, Paul Phillips, Head of Motorsport for the Isle of Man TT Races said: “The schedule introduced in 2023 achieved a number of important objectives for the TT. It created stronger opening and closing weekends, provided more racing across the week and gave visitors much greater choice around how and when they came to the island.
“Across the four TT events in which it has operated, the schedule has helped us attract more fans and deliver greater economic benefit to the island. Those gains remain central to the 2027 programme, but four years of experience have also provided valuable evidence about where the schedule can now be refined.
“For 2027, we believe the right balance is nine substantial and clearly defined races. Moving from two superstock races to one allows us to give the remaining superstock race and both sportbike races greater substance, create more recovery time within the programme and provide better protection around the Superbike and Senior TTs.
“This is an evolution rather than a return to the programme that existed before 2023. It retains the stronger two-weekend structure while giving each race day a clear purpose. Superbike provides an immediate headline race on the opening Saturday, while placing the 100th Senior TT on Friday allows us to build the day around that historic occasion and retain Saturday as a genuine contingency opportunity.
“We also want the 100th Senior TT to be about much more than the race itself. It gives us an opportunity to celebrate the riders, motorcycles and extraordinary performances that have made it the most important race at the TT.”
2027 Isle of Man TT Races provisional schedule
Saturday 5 June
RST Superbike TT - 6 laps
Sunday 6 June
Monster Energy Supersport TT Race 1 - 4 laps
Monday 7 June
Contingency day
Tuesday 8 June
RL360 Superstock TT - 4 laps
Motul Sidecar TT Race 1 - 2 laps
Wednesday 9 June
Monster Energy Supersport TT Race 2 - 4 laps
Carole Nash Sportbike TT Race 1 - 4 laps
Thursday 10 June
Contingency day
Friday 11 June
Milwaukee Senior TT - 6 laps
Saturday 12 June
Motul Sidecar TT Race 2 - 2 laps
Carole Nash Sportbike TT Race 2 - 4 lap
