Friday Practice & Qualifying: Browne Sets the Standard
The opening day of the 62nd Tandragee 100 presented competitors with a day of almost uninterrupted sunshine. That however brought its own problems as the evening progressed the sun became a problem as it got lower in the beautiful early summer sky. That coupled with an incident involving a belligerent spectator meant that the two Friday evening races were unfortunately cancelled.
In the premier Supersport qualifying session, Cork’s Michael Browne demonstrated exceptional form aboard the Boyce Precision Engineering/Russell Racing Yamaha. Browne was the only rider to break the three-minute barrier, securing pole position with a commanding lap of 2:59.629.
Multi-time Isle of Man TT winner Michael Dunlop MBE spearheaded the chase, qualifying second with a :03.00.084, while Skerries rider Michael Sweeney completed the front row (3:02.944).
Road Racing finally returned to the Republic of Ireland for the first time since Covid brought it to an unprecedented end in 2020. Then the difficulties in obtaining insurance really looked like it was threatening the very future of bikes ever returning to race between the Irish hedges.
2026 promised a return for Irish Road Racing and Saturday and Sunday 20th and 21st June 2026 saw that promise come to fruition with the Kells Road Races taking place on the 3.5km Crossakiel Circuit.
The results of a beautiful sun-kissed day of racing can be found below :
2026 Kells Road Races : Race Day – Sunday 21st June – Results :
The 2026 Isle of Man TT was one of the most difficult for the organisers in recent history. Practice week saw the Island baked in glorious sunshine however numerous on track incidents resulted in many schedule changes, however as qualifying got successfully wrapped up unfortunately the weather also left the Island behind bringing almost a solid week of rain.
After a week of week of inclement weather leading to postponements and cancellations only 5 races were declared. The Senior TT having only one complete and actually being declared a result after a red flag on lap 2.
The TBNI Road Racing Calendar will be updated as soon as new information comes to light so make sure you are subscribed to that : https://tbni.blog/road-racing-calendar/
The second week of the 2026 Isle of Man TT Races will go down as one of the most weather-disrupted and logistically challenging in the event’s modern history. Persistent rain and adverse conditions relentlessly forced cancellations, truncations, and major schedule overhauls, leaving the Clerk of the Course in a constant battle against the elements.
Out of the ten originally planned contests, only five official race results were declared across the entire event. Notably, both Superstock races were scrapped entirely, and the Sidecar class was suspended for the remainder of the event following serious incidents during practice week.
The second week saw a near-total blackout of racing from Wednesday through Thursday due to unrelenting rain. To salvage the schedule, organizers compressed the remaining action into Friday, June 5, executing a marathon itinerary that included the rescheduled Supersport Race 2, the newly re-branded Sportbike Race 1 (formerly Supertwin), and the blue-ribbon Milwaukee Senior TT.
When Saturday, June 6 brought yet another wave of dense fog and heavy rainfall, the final race day was officially abandoned. In an official statement, the Clerk of the Course summarized the historic frustrations:
“This has undoubtedly been one of the most challenging TTs in recent years from a weather perspective. Over the course of the event, we set out with nine days on which racing could potentially have taken place, and rain will have affected seven of them. That is an exceptional set of circumstances and it has had a major impact on what we have been able to deliver. Throughout the event, the weather simply hasn’t worked in our favour.”
The opening week of the 2026 Isle of Man TT Races has delivered a stark reminder of why the Mountain Course remains the ultimate, most unforgiving test in motorsport. As continuous track action wrapped up for the qualifying stages on Friday afternoon, May 29, the paddock’s focus was heavily divided between record-shattering pace on the tarmac and deep solemnity following severe incidents that reshaped this year’s event program.
Unprecedented Decision: Sidecar Class Suspended
The most significant operational headline of the opening week came on Thursday, May 28, when race organisers took the historic and highly precautionary step to suspend all remaining Sidecar action from the 2026 schedule.
The decision followed an immediate technical and operational review initiated after a series of heavy incidents during the week. Opening practice saw a red flag when Maria Costello MBE and passenger Shaun Parker came off at Brandish; while Costello was reported in serious but stable condition, Parker required extensive treatment for severe trauma injuries. The tipping point occurred during Wednesday evening’s third qualifying session, where the dominant local frontrunners, brothers Ryan and Callum Crowe, suffered a violent crash. Both were hospitalised, with Callum undergoing shoulder surgery and Ryan sustaining a broken wrist and burns.
In an official statement released at 12:15 PM on May 28, the Isle of Man TT Race Organisation stated:
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