The 2024 edition of the Isle of Man TT – the 103rd running of the famous motorcycle road racing festival – saw history made with Michael Dunlop securing a record-breaking 27th victory on Wednesday.
The win in the Lightweight class saw him surpass his uncle Joey Dunlop as the most successful rider in the event’s 114-year history.
Here is everything you need to know about each race, who to look out for and how to follow this year’s event.
What is the Isle of Man TT?
Over the course of two weeks, the public roads of the Isle of Man shut down and become one of the fastest race circuits in the world.
The TT features five different categories that this year will all race twice over the course of eight days. Solo riders will jump between Superbike, Superstock, Supersport and Supertwin machines, while Sidecar riders team up with a passenger to compete in two races.
All races are carried out in a time-trial format, with riders setting off from the Grandstand start line at 10-second intervals and completing a near-38-mile course up and over the Snaefell Mountain before returning to the finish line. Times are recorded at five locations around the island, named Glen Helen, Ballaugh, Ramsey, Bungalow, Cronk ny Mona and the Grandstand.
Events are very weather-dependent and lengthy delays can occur, particularly when public roads are used throughout the fortnight when races are not taking place: oil spills, parked cars and rogue wildlife are a common occurrence.
Where can I watch it?
For years, coverage of the TT has only been available through TV highlight shows on ITV4 each night. But for the 2022 edition TT organisers unveiled new plans to provide live coverage online through the TT+ Live Pass, which returns again for 2024.
Access costs a one-off sum of £19.99 for the fortnight, which will include coverage of all qualifying and race sessions, daily round-ups and documentaries.
End-of-day highlights continue to be broadcast on ITV4 each night.
You can also follow race week with Telegraph Sport.
Isle of Man TT 2024 schedule and results
Saturday June 1
Monster Energy Supersport Race One (4 laps)
Michael Dunlop secured his record-equalling 26th victory at the Isle of Man TT by powering to hard-fought win in the week-opening Monster Energy Supersport race, pulling him level with uncle Joey Dunlop as the most successful rider in the event’s 114-year history.
The Northern Irishman slammed his fist on the fuel tank of his MD Racing Yamaha R6 and looked up to the skies after pulling into the winners’ enclosure on Saturday, with the emotion of the moment for once showing itself as fans celebrated loudly around him.
The 35-year-old from Ballymena secured his 12th Supersport victory since his debut in 2009, his fifth successive class win, and his 26 overall victories in 15 years have come nine years faster than Joey, who clinched his final TT win in 2000 at the age of 48, three weeks before his tragic death in an Estonian road race.
“It’s fantastic. To equal Joey’s record is something that has been playing on my mind all week, and everyone else’s,” said Dunlop afterwards.
“No matter what happens in life everybody wanted to get to that record and now I’ve done it, so it is something special.”
Dunlop admitted that he took “a few laps to bed in” to his rhythm, which allowed rivals Dean Harrison and Davey Todd to exchange the lead through the first half of the opening lap
But when Dunlop hit the front by Ballaugh on the second lap, the stars looked to be aligning for the TT’s favourite son – whose father Robert and brother William also competed at the event before their fatal accidents in 2008 and 2018 respectively.
Harrison’s opening lap of 128.037mph was bettered by Dunlop’s second tour, with a lap average of 128.833mph giving him a slender 4.559s lead as the leaders pitted. Any fears that Dunlop’s aggressive riding style would take the life out of his rear tyre – which wasn’t changed during the one and only stop in the supersport category – proved unwarranted as he controlled the advantage over Todd, who followed Dunlop past Harrison as the latter’s challenge started to fade.
Dunlop wouldn’t have it all his own way, with Todd eating into his lead through the opening half of the third lap to fuel hopes of a battle to the line. But he barely put a wheel out of place and quickly stretched the lead to come home 8.574s ahead of British Superbike regular Todd, clocking the fastest lap of the race in the process at 129.214mph.
Result
Michael Dunlop 1:11:19.296
Davey Todd +8.574
Dean Harrison +22.381
James Hiller +41.441
James Hind +1.445
3wheeling.media Sidecar TT Race 1 (3 laps)
In Saturday’s second race, there was a notable absentee from the grid as 14-time TT winner Ben Birchall was unable to start the opening sidecar race of the week alongside passenger Kevin Rousseau because of damage sustained in a crash during qualifying. It meant that a new winner of the event would be crowned for the first time in 12 races, following the domination of the Birchall brothers, Ben and Tom, the latter who has this year retired from the TT.
But even had they been on the grid, Birchall and Rousseau would have faced a tough ask to stop the Crowe brothers Ryan and Callum, who set a blistering pace from the off and led by more than half-a-minute before easing off to take victory by more than 26 seconds, setting a fastest lap of 119.800 in the process.
Result
Ryan Crowe/Callum Crowe 57:14.976
Peter Founds/Jevan Walmsley + 26.894s
Alan Founds/Rhys Gibbons +1:14.380min
Lewis Blackstock/Patrick Rosney +9.000s
Lee Crawford/Scott Hardie +0.536s
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 issues for both the Northern Irishman and rival Davey Todd handed Peter Hickman victory in the RST Superbike race.
When every second counts, this is the longest 52 seconds in TT history! Michael Dunlop went on the set a new Superbike Record and claim 4th, the man is on another level on two wheels! #dunlop #isleofman #visor #iomtt
Video James Hammond - Unofficial Isle of Man TT YouTube. pic.twitter.com/tzH2uvC0jk— VISION MOTORSPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY (@vision_msp) June 2, 2024
British Superbike regular Hickman secured his 14th TT victory on Sunday, tying motorcycling great Mike Hawthorn on the all-time winners list, in a thrilling race that saw Dunlop, Todd and Honda Racing’s Dean Harrison battling for the lead across the opening four laps of the six-lap event.
Hickman came into the race hotly fancied having been the man to beat in recent years on the big bikes and having set the pace in practice. But it was TAS Racing BMW’s Todd who made the early running on the first lap with a speed of 134.417mph from a standing start.
Fresh from his 26th record-equalling victory in Saturday’s Supersport race, Dunlop was again on the pace and overhauled Todd by Ballaugh on lap two, leading the way as the front runners pitted at the end of the second lap with 135.543mph lap recorded.
As Hickman and Harrison jostled for third, Dunlop began to pull away from Todd and stretched the lead out to 17 seconds by the end of lap three, before pitting for the second time on lap four with a 25-second lead and looking a sure bet to break the all-time record for TT wins, jointly held with his uncle Joey Dunlop.
But both Dunlop and Todd would see their race wrecked by pit stop misfortune, first with Todd’s BMW failing to retire delaying his departure, and Dunlop having issues with his helmet that would cause the Northern Irishman to stop on Bray Hill and remove it to fix a faulty visor.
It meant that by Glen Helen on lap five, Harrison has inherited a 1.1s lead over Hickman, with Todd and Dunlop a further 10 and 29 seconds further back. FHO BMW’s Hickman would overtake Harrison by Ramsey and hold onto the lead through to the chequered flag, with Todd climbing back into second on the final lap for his best TT finish and Harrison holding on to third despite a charging Dunlop setting a new Superbike lap record with a final lap of 135.970mph average.
Result
Peter Hickman 1:42:56.113
Davey Todd +5.840s
Dean Harrison +5.201s
Michael Dunlop +15.116s
James Hillier +1.32.769
Tuesday June 4
Races postponed. Updated Wednesday schedule announced
Wednesday June 5
11:45am: Metzeler Supertwin TT Race 1 (3 laps)
Michael Dunlop became the first rider in history to claim a 27th victory at the Isle of Man TT, surpassing the 24-year record for the most overall wins held by his uncle Joey Dunlop.
The Northern Irish rider paid tribute to his late relative, who passed away nearly 24 years ago just weeks after his final victory at the TT.
“Everyone’s inspiration was to be a Joey Dunlop around the Isle of Man,” said Dunlop.
“I’m no better than Joey, never was. Joey’s record stood for 24 years and it’s an honour. Joey was a special talent.
“My record will be beaten one day but I don’t care.”
Dunlop took his second victory of the week, in Wednesday’s Metzeler Supertwin TT Race 1, to break Joey’s record and make up for his near-miss in Sunday’s dramatic RST Superbike race.
The 35-year-old becomes the most successful rider in TT history after beating Peter Hickman, the eventual winner of the Superbike TT who came home in a strong second place 20 seconds behind Dunlop, with Dominic Herbertson in third to claim his maiden podium finish.
However, all eyes were on Dunlop, the man whose life has been shaped by the TT. His story is one of both triumph and tragedy, with uncle Joey killed three weeks after his final Isle of Man victory when he crashed in a road race in Tallinn, Estonia. Michael’s father, Robert, a five-time TT winner, died in an accident during supersport practice at the 2008 North West 200 in Northern Ireland, a race which Michael went on to win two days later. His older brother, William, was killed in 2018 in a racing accident in Dublin.
Amid the horror though, the Dunlop name has remained at the front of the TT running for the last 50 years. Having debuted in 2007 and taken his first TT victory two years’ later, Dunlop has broken Joey’s previous record in just 17 years of competing. But after several near misses – having endured his Paton S1-R break down while leading in 2023 when attempting to equal Joey’s record and Sunday’s misfortune when a loose visor derailed what looked a guaranteed victory – Dunlop still didn’t have it all his own way on Wednesday morning.
“We had an issue in first practice and were struggling a wee bit,” he admitted. “But the boys worked hard on it and the bike was mint. We had to push on as I knew we would.”
Thursday June 6
11.20am: 3wheeling.media Sidecar TT Race 2 (2 laps)
Both the second Sidecar TT and Supersport race have been pushed back from their original Wednesday slot, with the clerk of the course confirming an additional day’s racing on Thursday after the loss of Tuesday’s action. The second Sidecar TT of the week in 2023 proved a nail-biting campaign in which the Birchalls triumphed by just nine seconds over the pairing of Peter Founds and Jevan Walmsley, who return in 2024 and will look to end a run of five straight podiums without a win.
1pm: RL360 Superstock TT Race 1 (3 laps)
Postponed from Wednesday’s cancellation, the superstock machines feature 1,000cc production bikes with stricter technical regulations than the superbikes in order to keep them closer to the off-the-shelf versions seen in showrooms across the country. The engine, frame and electronics must all remain as standard, though slick tyres are now permitted.
2pm: Monster Energy Supersport TT Race 2 (3 laps)
Dunlop wrapped up the third Superport double of his career in 2023 by taking the spoils in race two in what proved a repeat result of the race one podium.
Friday June 7
11:45am: PE Superstock TT Race 2 (3 laps)
Like Dunlop, Hickman took the spoils in both Superstock races last year in an event that produced his maiden TT victory in 2018 and where he has dominated the field ever since, winning every time he has competed. The 2023 edition proved a particularly memorable affair as Hickman made history by becoming the first man to break the 136mph lap record barrier, setting an all-time fastest lap of 136.358mph.
2pm: Entire Cover insurance Supertwin TT Race Two (3 laps)
The Supertwins category has favoured the smaller riders in recent years but the form book was thrown out in 2023’s race two when the 6ft 2in Lincolnshire native clinched his first win in the class.
Saturday June 8
Milwaukee Senior TT (6 laps)
The big race of the week brings the curtain down on the TT where Hickman, Harrison, Dunlop and Todd are expected to battle it out for top honours. Hickman has been the man to beat in the senior, winning four of the last five races and being beaten only by Harrison in 2019.
How many riders have died?
The TT would not be the challenge it is without its level of risk and danger. In total, 269 riders and passengers have died on the Snaefell Mountain Course, which hosts the TT as well as the Manx Grand Prix and the Classic TT.
There have been 156 deaths caused by accidents in the TT alone.
