Road Racing: 2023 Isle of Man TT preview

May 28, 2023 May 26, 2023

With the 2023 Isle of Man TT quickly approaching, we look at what to look out for before the fortnight.

With MotoGP and BSB on a break, it is time for the biggest road race of the season, the Isle of Man TT. This year’s TT will be the 102^nd running of the event, after being cancelled due to covid in 2020 and 2021.

For the second year running, every practice and race will be live on the Isle of Man TT Plus website. They will have live, uninterrupted coverage of the race, allowing fans to get as close as ever.

New and old faces

Many big names and faces will be returning this season, including the lap record holder, Peter Hickman. In 2018 Hickman set a new benchmark at the TT with an incredible lap speed of 135.452mph.

Michael Dunlop will also be hoping to add to his win tally to continue the Dunlop tradition at the TT. Dunlop currently has 21 TT wins and is catching up to John McGuiness’ 23 TT race wins.

Josh Brookes will also make his TT comeback this year, racing onboard the FHO BMW M 1000 RR. It’s the first time that Brookes has raced at the Isle of Man TT since 2018, racing for the Norton.

Ryan Cringle will make his debut this year and adds his name to the list of Manxmen who have raced around the course. Cringle will race in the RST Superbike TT, Milwaukee Senior TT, and the RL360 Superstock TT. Ryan Cringle will aim to follow in the steps of his younger brother, Jamie Cringle at the TT.

Cringle said: “Competing at the TT is something that’s always been nagging away at the back of my mind, and with the racing, I’ve done already, I now feel that the time is right to make my debut. I feel I’m ready for the challenge, and I think seeing Jamie compete last year made me commit to the task in hand.”

Lap record conditions

Currently, the weather is looking good for practice week, with temperatures expected to reach 18 degrees. This means that the course will get plenty of rubber down, meaning we could see some lap records.

With riders already having a year back to get their head on bikes dialled in it looks the best conditions that we have had since 2018. The motorcycles have greatly improved, with the introduction of the Yamaha R7 and the Aprilia RS660 in the Supertwin class.

Even last year, with less experience after a two-year break, and fluctuating weather conditions, lap records were broken. Michael Dunlop broke the Supersport lap record of 131.713mph.

On the build-up to the TT, many riders entered this year’s North West 200. The FHO team did not race their Superbike/Superstock machines at the North West after the team withdrew from the event.

For this year, Metzeler has been appointed as the official tyre supplier for the TT until 2027. They will take over from Dunlop, who were experiencing tyre issues in last year’s Isle of Man. TT.

100 years of sidecars

It is not just two wheels which race at the TT, with the Sidecar class celebrating their 100 years of racing in the event. First entering in 1923 with 14 outfits making the start in the first race around the 37.73-mile course.

The race was won comfortably by Freddie Dixon and Walter Perry who won with an average lap speed of 53.15mph. In second place was the outfit of Graham Walker, father of Murray Walker.

The race was increased to four laps in 1924, with George Tucker and Len Parker winning for the next two years. But in 1925, the Sidecar class was removed from the TT schedule by the ACU.

It would take almost 30 years for the Sidecar class to return to the Island, but in 1954 the Sidecar class made the start once again. To celebrate the Sidecar’s class legacy at the TT, Dave Molyneux’s TT-winning outfit will be riding around the course.