The 2024 Pre-TT Classic Road Races were held over Friday 24th May 2024 – Sunday 25th May 2024 on the Colas Billown Circuit, Castletown, Isle of Man.
With qualifying sessions held on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, the racing got underway on Saturday evening, followed by a full race schedule for Sunday.
The Dakar Future Mission 1000 is a new initiative introduced as part of the Dakar Future programme. This mission offers constructors an opportunity to test vehicles with innovative technologies on Dakar terrain. The challenge will run for 100 km separate from the stages, adding up to 1,000 km.
Three engine types have been selected for Mission 1000: fully electric, fully hydrogen-powered, and hybrid technology. Entrants need to complete the entire route to score a grand total of 100 points in the challenge and will lose points for each unfinished stage.
Vehicles will be awarded points for driving skills depending on how their actual performances stack up against the established reference time. There are three modes: Eco Mode (+ 10% over the reference time and beyond), Normal Mode (within 5% of the reference time), and Sport Mode (−10% and under). Each mode awards different points.
In addition to this, there’s a unique timed challenge called “Launch Control” where the vehicles will break into a 100 m sprint from a standing start. The top-ranked entrant in each of the car and motorbike categories will be awarded 10 bonus points.
The 2025 Dakar Rally, the world’s most grueling and prestigious off-road endurance race, is set to take place from January 3rd to 17th, 2025. This year’s rally promises to be a thrilling spectacle, with several new features designed to challenge the competitors and captivate the audience.
2025 Dakar Rally Changes :
The first major change is the increased emphasis on navigation. The organizers have decided to make the rally more challenging by adding more navigation stages. This means that the competitors will need to rely more on their navigational skills and less on speed. This change is expected to level the playing field and make the race more unpredictable and exciting.
The second major change is the separation of stages for cars, bikes, and trucks. This is a significant departure from previous years, where all vehicles competed on the same stages. The separation of stages is expected to make the race safer and more competitive, as each class of vehicle will have stages designed specifically for them.
The 2025 Dakar Rally will also feature a mass start, a 48-hour Chrono stage, and a marathon stage. The mass start will see all competitors start the race at the same time, creating a thrilling spectacle for the spectators. The 48-hour Chrono stage will test the endurance and resilience of the competitors, as they will have to race non-stop for two days. The marathon stage, on the other hand, will be a test of the competitors’ mechanical skills, as they will have to service their vehicles without any assistance from their teams.
Update : 29/05/2026 : A new 2026 Race Week Schedule has been announced. Following the cancellation of any further sidecar racing for the 2026 event a new Race Week Schedule has been announced. Full details can be found here :
TBNI.Blog have compiled the most useful and popular posts in relation to the TT Road Races in order to bring you a basic Visitors’ Guide. Hopefully this guide will give you an idea and some knowledge of the course and plenty of other useful information.
History :
The Isle of Man TT, the oldest motorcycle racing event in the world, has been a spectacle of speed and skill since its inception in 1907.
The race was born out of necessity, as racing on the highways of Britain was forbidden by Act of Parliament. The Isle of Man, with its more lenient attitude towards automobile racing, became the perfect venue.
The first race was a time trial, organised by the Auto-Cycle Club (later renamed the Auto-Cycle Union). The course was a challenging 52.15-mile “Highlands” route. However, the steep climbs of the mountain section proved too much for the bikes of the time, leading to a redirection of the race. It wasn’t until 1911 that the race returned to the Mountain Course. The current Course takes riders on a 37.73 mile starting just outside Douglas and takes in numerous towns and villages and of course up and over the island’s highest mountain Snaefell.
The early races emphasised the road touring nature of the motorcycles, with regulations for saddles, pedals, mudguards, and exhaust silencers.
The first single-cylinder race was won by Charles Collier riding a Matchless, while Rem Fowler on a Norton took the twin-cylinder honours.
Over the years, the TT Course evolved from a horse and cart track, which included the odd gate between fields, into a world-renowned racing circuit. Lap speeds improved with road conditions, rising from 55.62 mph in 1920 to over 90 mph by the outbreak of World War 2. In 2023, Peter Hickman was the fastest lap holder with an average speed of 136.358mph or a lap time of 16m 36.114s
The TT returned after the War in 1947, with Harold Daniell winning the Senior once more.
The race has continued to grow in popularity, attracting thrill-seekers from around the globe.
As the TT Races celebrated its 100th race meeting in 2019, the spirit of competition and advancement that brought the original TT competition to the Island remains as strong as ever.
The 2024 North West 200 took place over the race week of 6th – 11th May 2024 on the sun kissed North Coast of Northern Ireland.
Due to the May Day Bank Holiday and a clash with the BSB Calendar a slight change was implemented to the NW200 Schedule in that the traditional Tuesday Practice Session was moved to Wednesday. From there it was onto Thursday for another day time practice session and then the evening’s race session.
Wednesday 8th May 2024 Practice Session :
Wednesday’s practice laid down the cards for what the week had ahead with Glen Irwin lapping inside the course record on the Superbike on the first practice session on the ‘big’ bikes! The Carrickfergus man on the Hager PBM Ducati completed his lap at an average speed of 124.895mph, 0.2 seconds quicker than Peter Hickman’s official lap record speed of 124.799mph.
The Top Tens Across the Classes were as follows :
1st – Glenn Irwin – 4.18.553 2nd – Davey Todd – 4.19.910 3rd – Michael Dunlop – 4.22.814 4th – Peter Hickman – 4.25.023 5th – Dean Harrison – 4.25.219 6th – Ian Hutchinson – 4.29.182 7th – John McGuinness MBE – 4.29.706 8th – James Hillier – 4.32.014 9th – Erno Kostamo – 4.32.482 10th – Conor Cummins – 4.32.924
1st – Richard Cooper – 4.34.202 2nd – Davey Todd – 4.35.017 3rd – Michael Dunlop – 4.39.612 4th – Michael Browne – 4.40.336 5th – Peter Hickman – 4.41.033 6th – Paul Jordan – 4.42.347 7th – Adam McLean – 4.43.241 8th – Michael Evans – 4.45.157 9th – Conor Cummins – 4.46.427 10th – Michael Sweeney – 4.46.987
1st – Davey Todd – 4.20.942 2nd – Dean Harrison – 4.21.525 3rd – Michael Dunlop – 4.23.788 4th – Peter Hickman – 4.24.951 5th – John McGuinness MBE – 4.25.959 6th – James Hillier – 4.27.576 7th – Adam McLean – 4.30.252 8th – Michael Sweeney – 4.30.879 9th – Dominic Herbertson – 4.31.454 10th – Conor Cummins – 4.31.917
1st – Jeremy McWilliams – 5.02.185 2nd – Adam McLean – 5.02.622 3rd – Michael Sweeney – 5.03.621 4th – Christian Elkin – 5.05.999 5th – Peter Hickman – 5.07.280 6th – Barry Graham – 5.10.784 7th – Michael Rutter – 5.10.983 8th – Gary McCoy – 5.11.655 9th – Michael Browne – 5.13.266 10th – Gareth Arnold – 5.14.908
The Supertwin qualifying session was cut short due to a red flag incident.
Thursday 9th May 2024 Practice Session :
With rain overnight, the track was wet and damp in places for the start of Thursday’s Practice Session. However the weather was perfect from early on and it did not take too long for the circuit to dry out. From here it was a mixed morning, on one hand there were three red flags, one during the Supersports, one during the Superstocks and one in the Supertwin Session, thankfully none of the incidents involved serious injuries.
On the other hand then there were records getting smashed. Glenn Irwin took almost 2 seconds of the lap record, although this is not an official record, as that can only be made or taken during racing and with Davey Todd hitting 209.8 mph at the speed trap it has set the scene perfectly for an exceptionally high level of racing for the Thursday and Saturday sessions.
TBNI.Blog have compiled the most useful and popular posts in relation to the Pre-TT Classic Road Races in order to bring you a basic Visitors’ Guide. Hopefully this guide will give you an idea and some knowledge of the course and plenty of other useful information.
Updated for 2026
History :
The Pre-TT Classic Road Races came into being in 1988 at the request of the then TT organisers, the then Auto Cycle Union, Classics having first appeared on the Billown course twelve months earlier at the popular Southern ‘100’ Road Races.’ The first TT Classic Races were held on the 31st May1988, the meeting consisting of four races, 250cc/350c; 500cc; Unlimited and Sidecars and attracted 115 entries in all.
Honour of being the first race winner went to Graham Godward of Royston in Hertfordshire, riding a 350cc Aermacchi, whilst the 250cc category was dominated by ‘local’ classic man Mike Cain from Onchan on his 250cc Suzuki. Dave Pither, Seeley Matchless took the 500cc race from Richard Swallow on Syd Lawton’s Aermacchi with Alan Dugdale third. Riding a BSA Metisse, Stroud’s Robert Price finished first in the Unlimited race, whilst the controversial MV Agusta sidecar outfit of Mark Kay and Richard Battisson took the chequered flag in the final race of the day. The Classics had arrived at Billown!
Thirty plus years on, the Blackford’s Pre-TT Classic Road Races is rated as one of the most popular and ‘must do’ events in the annual Classic calendar attracting well over 250 entries for its nine-race event.
For further information on the Pre-TT Road Races click here.
Pre-TT Classic Road Races Tickets :
The Pre-TT Road Races is a free event. Spectators can visit and find any number of superb vantage spots (for free) around the 4.25 miles of the circuit. There are also a couple of grandstands run by the Southern 100 Club, they are very reasonably priced and if you fancy a guaranteed seat for the day they are a great way to go.
Even though the event is free, it is important to support the sport and one way to do this is to visit the Merchandise Tent, or the Club Hall or Burger van. The breakfasts are great and really well priced! Programmes are also available and are filled with interesting articles, stories, photographs and information about the event. Programmes are available for sale at the circuit.
The Pre-TT Classic Road Races Circuit shares its asphalt with the Southern 100. The circuit is at Billown, Castletown in the South of the Island and is 4.25 miles per lap.
The 2024 North West 200 runs over the week of 6th – 11th May 2024 on the Triangle Circuit of Northern Ireland’s stunning north coast. The circuit starts in Portrush, heads quickly off towards Portstewart and onto Coleraine before bringing itself back to one of the island’s most famous seaside towns.
A detailed visitors guide for the event can be found here and covers a brief history of the event, details and pricing of grandstand tickets, paddock passes and the new Fan Zone as well as circuit details, directions to the event and other useful information such as the meanings of the flags used around the course and links to all Official sites.
The Schedule has changed a little this year, however the changes will only affect the practice sessions. The usual Tuesday initial practice session will now be held on Wednesday 8th May 2024. A further practice session will, as usual, be held on Thursday 9th May 2024 morning. The first race session will remain on Thursday evening and will feature 3 races covering the Superbike, Supersport and Superstock classes.
The changes come to stop a clash with the BSB Calendar as this year Round 2 of the Championship will be held over the 4th – 6th May 2024.
So here is how the 2024 North West 200 Race Schedule looks :
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