- 2026 Isle of Man TT: Weather, Drama And A Kiwi On The Rise
- Harrison, Dunlop And Rees: The Stories Of TT 2026
- 2026 Isle of Man TT Recap: Records, Rain And Rising Kiwi Talent
- The TT That Almost Wasn’t: A Review Of Isle of Man TT 2026
Despite weather disruption, race cancellations and the loss of the Sidecar programme, the 2026 Isle of Man TT still delivered memorable victories for Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop, while Kiwi Mitch Rees continued his impressive rise around the Mountain Course.
The 2026 Isle of Man TT will be remembered as one of the most disrupted modern TTs, but also one that still delivered plenty of drama, speed and significance.
Qualifying week suggested the event could be heading towards something special. After several weather-affected years, riders enjoyed largely favourable conditions early in the meeting, allowing the front-runners to build speed quickly and giving newcomers and less experienced TT competitors valuable track time around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course.
Dean Harrison was immediately one of the standout performers, showing serious pace aboard the Honda Racing UK Fireblade, while Michael Dunlop once again looked dangerous across the middleweight and Sportbike classes. For New Zealand fans, Whakatāne rider Mitch Rees continued to build on the promise he showed during his TT debut year, returning with the Milenco by Padgett’s squad and a much busier race programme.
But as race week unfolded, the weather turned. Rain, low cloud, damp patches and limited road-closure windows repeatedly forced organisers to revise the schedule. The result was a TT that featured brilliant racing when conditions allowed, but far fewer completed races than planned.
Sidecar Incidents Force Major Decision
Before the solo racing had properly gathered momentum, the meeting was hit by a major safety decision in the Sidecar class.
Two serious sidecar incidents during qualifying week, including crashes involving Maria Costello and passenger Shaun Parker, and pre-event favourites Ryan and Callum Crowe, led organisers to suspend and then cancel the Sidecar races for the remainder of the event.
It was one of the biggest talking points of TT 2026 and a sobering reminder of the fine margins involved at the Isle of Man. The Sidecar class has always been one of the most spectacular elements of the TT, but after two major crashes in quick succession, organisers were left with little choice but to pause the programme while safety concerns were assessed.
Superbike TT: Harrison Makes His Statement
The opening RST Superbike TT set the tone for the solo races, with Dean Harrison delivering a controlled and commanding victory.
Riding the Honda Racing UK Fireblade, Harrison led from the first timing point at Glen Helen and never looked under serious threat. By Ballaugh on the opening lap, he had already stretched his lead to more than seven seconds, while Michael Dunlop and Peter Hickman traded blows behind him.
Harrison’s opening lap of 134.892mph gave him a 12-second lead over Dunlop, with Hickman less than a second further back. From that point, the race became a two-part contest: Harrison managing the gap at the front, and Hickman and Dunlop fighting over second.
As the laps unfolded, Harrison continued to build his advantage. By one-third distance he was more than 24 seconds clear, while Hickman and Dunlop were separated by less than a second. Pit stops shuffled the order slightly, but Harrison’s control never really looked in doubt.
Hickman, returning from injury, eventually secured second place, while Dunlop completed the podium in third. Harrison’s win was his first Superbike TT victory and his sixth TT win overall.
For Mitch Rees, the Superbike TT was a significant milestone. After slipping off on lap one of the Superbike race in 2025, t the Kiwi completed his first six-lap Superbike TT in 2026 and finished an impressive 17th, setting a personal-best lap of 127.082mph on the final lap.
That was a major step forward. The TT rewards mileage and experience more than almost any other event in motorcycle racing, and Rees looked increasingly comfortable as the race progressed.
Supersport TT Race 1: Dunlop Takes Control
After the Superbike opener, attention shifted to the Monster Energy Supersport TT Race 1, where Michael Dunlop once again proved why he remains the benchmark in the class.
The race was delayed by weather and reduced from four laps to three, but by the time it got underway conditions were good enough for proper racing, despite damp patches in the usual problem areas.
Dean Harrison led early, holding a 1.6-second advantage over Dunlop at Glen Helen on the opening lap. By Ballaugh, Harrison had stretched that to 2.1 seconds, while Mike Browne, Paul Jordan, Peter Hickman and Dominic Herbertson formed the early chase group.
But Dunlop was already beginning to close. By Ramsey he had reduced Harrison’s lead to just 1.1 seconds, and after the mandatory pit stop at the end of lap one, Dunlop emerged in front by only 0.127 seconds.
From there, he took control.
Through Glen Helen on lap two, Dunlop’s lead had grown to 2.3 seconds. By Ballaugh it was four seconds, and by Ramsey it had stretched to 7.2 seconds. Harrison had no answer once Dunlop found rhythm, while Hickman recovered from a time loss in the pits to chase down the podium positions.
Starting the final lap, Dunlop led Harrison by 12.5 seconds. By Glen Helen the gap was 16.1 seconds, and by the finish it had grown to 24.47 seconds.
Dunlop’s fastest lap of 127.672mph sealed the win, with Harrison second and Hickman third. It was Dunlop’s 34th TT victory and continued his remarkable run of Supersport success.
Mitch Rees was one of the standout performers outside the top ten. Making his Supersport TT debut, the New Zealander finished 13th, an excellent result considering he has traditionally focused on 1000cc machinery. It also underlined the value of his decision, made with Clive Padgett, to add the Honda CBR600RR to his 2026 programme.
Supersport TT Race 2: More Dunlop Dominance
The second Supersport race brought more success for Dunlop, who completed the class double and further extended his all-time TT win record.
By this point of the week, the weather had become the dominant factor in the schedule, forcing organisers to squeeze racing into whatever windows were available. Even so, once the Supersport bikes were released, Dunlop again showed the same combination of aggression, control and experience that has made him almost unbeatable in the class.
Harrison was again among his closest challengers, but the pattern was familiar: once Dunlop got into his rhythm, the gap began to grow. His ability to ride the Mountain Course at relentless speed without appearing to overwork the bike remains extraordinary.
For Rees, who is listed in 10th place on the official timing but he reports he finished 11th, his second Supersport outing offered more valuable mileage and another opportunity to build confidence on the CBR600RR. His performances in the Supersport class were among the most encouraging aspects of his 2026 TT, showing that the Kiwi is not just gaining speed on the big bikes, but also broadening his skillset across multiple categories.
Sportbike TT: A New Class Makes Its Mark
One of the most interesting elements of TT 2026 was the introduction of the new Carole Nash Sportbike class.
Replacing the former Supertwin focus as the lightweight headline category, Sportbike brought a fresh look to the TT and immediately added another storyline to race week. With machinery including Paton, Aprilia, Yamaha, Triumph and CFMOTO entries, the class offered variety, relevance and a glimpse of where the TT’s middleweight future may be heading.
The first Sportbike TT was delayed until Friday afternoon, but once the race started, Michael Dunlop wasted no time establishing control.
Riding the Paton by MD Racing machine, Dunlop led at Glen Helen on lap one by 3.68 seconds from Mike Browne (Paton), with Paul Jordan (Aprilia RS660) third and Peter Hickman (Yamaha R7) fourth. By Ballaugh, Dunlop had more than doubled his lead to 7.97 seconds, and by Ramsey he was already 11.3 seconds ahead.
Behind him, the real race was developing between Browne and Jordan. The pair were split by only a couple of seconds for much of the race, while Hickman ran fourth but appeared to be losing time and was seen looking down at the Yamaha on more than one occasion.
Dunlop’s opening lap of 123.637mph was already a new class lap record and gave him a 17.5-second advantage. With no pit stop required in the two-lap race, he simply carried on building the gap.
On lap two, Dunlop continued to set rapid sector times and eventually completed the race with a stunning final lap of 124.530mph, establishing another Sportbike benchmark and winning by 28.775 seconds.
The battle for second went right to the flag. Browne and Jordan both broke the 123mph barrier, both went inside the previous Supertwin lap record, and Browne eventually claimed second by just 0.663 seconds.
Hickman finished fourth, ahead of Jamie Coward and Joe Yeardsley, who recorded a career-best sixth. It was a strong debut for the class and, despite only one Sportbike race being completed after Race 2 was cancelled, the category showed enough to suggest it has a genuine future at the TT.
The appeal is obvious. Sportbike machinery is fast enough to be spectacular, but not so extreme that it becomes purely about managing 200-plus horsepower. The racing is close, the bikes are relevant, and the class gives manufacturers and teams a modern platform that sits neatly between Supersport and Superbike.
For Dunlop, the victory was his 36th TT win, further extending a record that already seems almost untouchable.
Senior TT: A Frustrating Finale
The Milwaukee Senior TT is meant to be the grand finale of race week. In 2026, it became another example of how heavily the weather shaped the event.
The race began on Friday evening, and Harrison immediately looked like the man to beat. At Glen Helen on lap one he led Hickman by 4.1 seconds, with Ian Hutchinson third and Josh Brookes fourth. By Ballaugh the lead had grown to 6.7 seconds, while Brookes had moved up to third.
At Ramsey, Harrison continued to stretch the gap. By the end of the opening lap he had recorded a standing-start 135.166mph lap, putting him 12.4 seconds clear of Hickman. Brookes held third, with Hutchinson, Dunlop and Jamie Coward completing the top six.
On lap two, Harrison kept pushing. By Glen Helen he was 14.3 seconds clear and, as he climbed the Mountain, he was reportedly on pace to challenge the outright lap record. But the race was red-flagged due to an incident at the 11th Milestone before half distance had been completed.
Initially the Senior TT was rescheduled. But with the weather refusing to improve, and further racing windows disappearing, organisers eventually declared the Senior TT result based on the positions at the end of lap one from the original race start.
That gave Harrison the victory, ahead of Peter Hickman and Josh Brookes. It was not the way anyone wanted the blue-riband race to conclude, but few could argue Harrison had been the fastest rider in the race and one of the standout performers of the entire meeting.
Superstock And Sportbike Race 2 Lost To The Weather
Persistent poor weather resulted in several schedule revisions and the loss of multiple planned races, preventing the full programme from being completed.
That was a major shame, particularly given how strong the big-bike field looked in qualifying and how well Harrison’s Honda package had performed in the Superbike and Senior races. The Superstock races often produce some of the closest racing of the fortnight because the bikes remain closer to showroom specification, but in 2026 the class never had a chance to deliver.
The loss of Sportbike Race 2 was equally frustrating. After such a promising first race, a second outing would have given the class a better chance to establish itself and potentially produce an even closer fight as teams and riders learned more about the machinery around the Mountain Course.
Mitch Rees: Another Step Forward
For New Zealand fans, one of the most encouraging stories of TT 2026 was the continued progress of Whakatāne rider Mitch Rees.
Returning to the Island after claiming the Vernon Cooper Trophy as best solo newcomer in 2025, Rees arrived with the Milenco by Padgett’s Honda team determined to build on the foundations laid during his debut campaign. By the end of the fortnight, he had done exactly that.
The numbers only tell part of the story. Rees recorded a new qualifying personal best lap of 126.668mph, completed his first six-lap Superbike TT and set a career-best race lap of 127.082mph on the final lap of the Superbike race.
His race results also showed clear progression. Rees finished 17th in the RST Superbike TT, 13th in Supersport Race 1 and then produced his best-ever TT finish with 11th place in Supersport Race 2, leaving him just outside the top ten against one of the strongest middleweight fields assembled on the Island in recent years.
The achievements earned Rees his first Isle of Man TT Silver Replicas and represented another significant step forward in his Mountain Course education.
The success did not come by accident. In order to focus on the TT, Rees effectively put his New Zealand Superbike Championship campaign on hold and arrived in Europe early for an intensive preparation programme that included nine days of testing in Spain on a 600cc machine he had not raced since 2017.
As Rees reflected after the event:
“TT26 ✅ it’s another year completed for the Isle of Man TT. The Isle of Man TT 2026 brought it all — knocking on the door of top 10, sunshine, first 6-lap Superbike race, rain, my first silver replicas.”
The son of New Zealand road-racing legend Tony Rees, Mitch continues to carve out his own place on the world stage. More importantly, he is doing it the right way. The Mountain Course rewards patience, experience and persistence above all else, and every lap completed adds another layer of knowledge.
Rees leaves TT 2026 with greater confidence, increased speed and the belief that top-ten finishes are now a realistic target rather than a distant ambition. For New Zealand road-racing fans, that is perhaps the most exciting takeaway from this year’s event.
The 2026 Isle of Man TT will be remembered as one of the most disrupted modern TTs, but also one that still delivered plenty of drama, speed and significance.
Qualifying week suggested the event could be heading towards something special. After several weather-affected years, riders enjoyed largely favourable conditions early in the meeting, allowing the front-runners to build speed quickly and giving newcomers and less experienced TT competitors valuable track time around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course.
Dean Harrison was immediately one of the standout performers, showing serious pace aboard the Honda Racing UK Fireblade, while Michael Dunlop once again looked dangerous across the middleweight and Sportbike classes. For New Zealand fans, Whakatāne rider Mitch Rees continued to build on the promise he showed during his TT debut year, returning with the Milenco by Padgett’s squad and a much busier race programme.
But as race week unfolded, the weather turned. Rain, low cloud, damp patches and limited road-closure windows repeatedly forced organisers to revise the schedule. The result was a TT that featured brilliant racing when conditions allowed, but far fewer completed races than planned.
