Lightweight TT

The Supertwin TT is a motorcycle road race that is a part of the Isle of Man TT festival - an annual motorcycle event traditionally held over the last week of May and first week of June. Prior to the 2022 edition of the TT, the race was known as the Lightweight TT.

History

The Lightweight class, as it was then known, was first present at the 1920 TT races, as a category in the Junior TT. However it was not until 1922 that the first time the Lightweight TT took place, won by motorcycle journalist Geoff S. Davison riding a Levis, at an average speed of 49.89mph (80.29km/h) for 5 laps of the Snaefell Mountain Course. Between 1949 and 1976, the Lightweight race was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.

In the changes following the loss of FIM World Championship status after the 1976 event, the Lightweight TT event was dropped with the 250cc machines running for the Junior TT in place of the now defunct 350cc formula. The Lightweight TT returned in 1995 before being split into two distinct events from 1999, dropping from the schedule again after 2004.

The Lightweight TT and the Ultra-Lightweight TT were later reinstated to the 2008 & 2009 race schedules, but were held on the 4.25 mile Billown Circuit in the south of the Isle of Man. For the 2010 races, the Lightweight TT was again dropped from the race schedule on cost grounds.

The event was re-introduced for the 2012 races on the Mountain course, with a change to water-cooled four-stroke twin cylinder engines not exceeding 650cc and complying with the ACU Standing Regulations.

The event was renamed Supertwin TT in 2022.

The Lightweight category

There have been several different categories of motorcycle that can compete in this event. In the 1950s and 1960s, the principal TT solo events were the Senior (500cc), Junior (350cc), and Lightweight (250cc, or sometimes 125cc). The 125cc class was occasionally called the "Ultra-Lightweight" class.

Currently the Lightweight class comprises road-based "SuperTwin" solo machines with liquid-cooled four-stroke engines of up to 500cc for Four-Cylinder and 800cc Twin-Cylinder engine capacity.

Overview

• 1924–1948: For motorcycles not exceeding 250cc engine capacity.
• 1949–1953: FIM World Championship event for motorcycles not exceeding 250cc engine capacity, held on the Snaefell mountain course.
• 1954–1959: FIM World Championship event for motorcycles not exceeding 250cc engine capacity, held on the Clypse Course.
• 1960–1976: FIM World Championship event for motorcycles not exceeding 250cc engine capacity, held on the Mountain Course.
• 1977–1994: event not run (250cc formula run as Junior TT).
• 1995–1998: For 2-stroke motorcycles not exceeding 250cc engine capacity and 4-stroke motorcycles not exceeding 400cc, held on the Mountain Course.
• 1999–2003: Lightweight 400 TT for 4-stroke motorcycles not exceeding 400cc engine capacity, held on the Mountain Course.
• 1999–2002: Lightweight 250 TT for 2-stroke motorcycles not exceeding 250cc engine capacity, held on the Mountain Course (the category running within Junior TT in 2003).
• 2008–2009: For motorcycles not exceeding 250cc engine capacity, held on the Billown Circuit.
• 2012–2019: For water-cooled four-stroke twin cylinder not exceeding an engine capacity of 650cc and complying with the ACU Standing Regulations.

Speed and lap records

The lap record for the Lightweight TT is held by Michael Dunlop in a time of 18 minutes and 26.543 seconds, at an average speed of 122.750mph (197.547km/h) set during the 2018 race. The race record for the 4 lap (150.73 miles/242.58km) Lightweight TT is a time of 1 hour, 15 minutes and 05.032 seconds, at an average race speed of 120.601mph (194.088km/h), also held by Dunlop during the 2018 race.

List of Lightweight TT Winners

Race winners (riders)

See also

• TT Zero
• Ultra-Lightweight TT
• Sidecar TT
• Junior TT
• Senior TT