Classic TT entries oversubscribed
Organisers have had to turn away some potential entrants for the Classic TT after receiving over 300 applications.
The first ever Classic TT takes place from the 24th to the 26th of August and forms part of the Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling.
Entries closed on the 3rd May with two of the three races oversubscribed.
Most popular was the combined Formula 1, Formula 2 and Formula Classic race with over 120 applications received.
Featuring bikes from the late seventies up to a cut-off date of 1992 it’s widely expected to attract an array of racing exotica as well as production based machinery representative of the TT’s 1980s boom years.
Almost as popular with would-be entrants the 500cc Classic TT race will be the event opener on Saturday 24th August.
The 500cc capacity was, for many years, the defining Senior race at the Isle of Man TT and interest in the class has remained high in classic circles ever since.
Exotic multi cylinder bikes from MV Agusta, Honda and Paton will be going up against iconic big British singles from Norton, Matchless, AJS and others.
Monday 26th will be the second day of racing (Sunday is dedicated to the VMCC backed Festival of Jurby) and starts with the combined 350cc / 250cc Classic TT races.
As the warm-up to the F1/F2/Formula Classic there will be plenty of interest in the race, particularly as it is one where many of the machines will be pretty evenly matched.
The 350s, as usual, will be dominated by Honda but there’ll be strong challenges from Norton, AJS and Aermacchi machinery. Suzuki, meanwhile, will be the mainstay for much of the field in the 250s against a smaller number of Honda, Ducati and Kawasaki racers.
There’s not just a high quality entry in terms of bikes, the entry list of riders is equally impressive. Multiple MGP winners Chris Palmer, Olie Linsdell, Roy Richardson and Alan Oversby will all be on the starting line for one or more race, facing off against the cream of current TT talent.
John McGuinness, with a current tally of 19 TT wins is the most high-profile new recruit to the field of Classic racing and is set to ride the ex-Ryan Farquhar Winfield Paton.
Conor Cummins, Michael and William Dunlop, Gary Johnson, Cameron Donald, Bruce Anstey and others will be out to make sure John, and the Classic boys don’t have it all their own way.
The Classic TT has also drawn in the biggest teams and most respected machine builders from all over the world to compete. The Yamaha Classic Racing Team will make their one and only competitive racing outing at the Classic TT, with Team Classic Suzuki, a factory team from Norton Motorcycles, leading TT teams Padgett’s Motorcycles and CSC Racing and multiple Manx GP winners Team Winfield also taking part.
The line up reads like a who’s who of classic racing royalty with individuals such as New Zealand’s Ken McIntosh and British engineering greats Dick Linton, Andy Molnar, Fred Walmsley, Tony Dunnell and John Davies all either entering their own machinery or heading up one of the major teams.