Meetings 1907 - 1930

TT 1926

With the manufacturers still unhappy about the image of sidecar racing, the ACU scrapped the three-wheelers for 1926, together with the Ultra-Lightweight class, which suffered from a lack of entries.

The long-running format of Senior, Junior and Lightweight races was thus established, all three events being run over a distance of seven laps (264.11 miles).

The course itself had been improved considerably and even the Mountain section had been tarmacked. Another change was a ban on methanol, forcing competitors to use ordinary petrol.

The fame of the TT races had spread throughout Europe by this time, enhancing the reputation of the British factories. The Italians therefore decided it was time they had a share of the glory and machines from the Garelli, Bianchi and Moto Guzzi concerns appeared in the Island. Garelli, in particular, raised a few eyebrows among the British factory personnel with their 250 cc two-stroke Lightweight machine, ridden by Ermino Visoli, which featured four carburettors on its twin-piston single-cylinder motor.

Nevertheless it was a good old British Cotton that won the race, which almost produced an international incident when Italian Pietro Ghersi finished second on his Moto Guzzi only to be excluded for using a different plug from the one specified on his entry form. It was cruel luck for Ghersi, who had led the opening six laps and looked a likely winner. On the last lap he had had to refuel, which enabled Paddy Johnston to win by just 20 seconds on his Cotton. The Italian's only consolation was a new lap record of 63.12 mph.

Velocette produced a new Junior contender for Alec Bennett. The 350cc overhead-camshaft machine proved an instant winner, providing the popular Bennett with a record-breaking third TT win and new lap and race records.

The Senior produced the first-ever 70 mph lap (set by Simpson on his AJS) and a victory for Stanley Woods on his Norton debut.