It has been a troubled qualifying week at the Isle of Man TT, with the tragic death of racer Daniel Ingham casting a dark shadow over this year’s event.
Several other incidents have seen competitors hospitalised, while eight spectators were taken to hospital for treatment following a crash in Monday’s practice session.
Meanwhile two incidents involving sidecar crews resulted in the class being removed from the remainder of this year’s schedule.
Despite the often trying circumstances, riders covered significant mileage in qualifying in largely favourable conditions, with two competitors in particular asserting their authority.
With racing called off on Saturday and now scheduled to begin with the six-lap Superbike race on Sunday, BBC Sport looks at the prospects for potential winners.
Harrison hot on the big bikes
Honda Racing’s Dean Harrison has dominated qualifying for the Superbike, Superstock and Senior races, immediately throwing down the gauntlet to his rivals in first qualifying and incrementally improving his lap times throughout the week.
The Yorkshire rider posted a lap speed of 133.925mph on his Honda Fireblade Superbike to record the fastest-ever circuit of the Mountain Course in an opening qualifying session, having gone just marginally slower on his first standing start lap.
The 37-year-old bettered that on Friday with 134.877mph in cooler and windy conditions, firmly establishing him as a firm pre-race favourite for the Superbike and Senior races.
Peter Hickman was second fastest on the qualifying leaderboard on his 8TEN Racing BMW with 132.712 and looks likely to be one of the main challengers to Harrison if the continuing problems he is experiencing with nerve damage to his shoulder as a result of a practice crash at last year’s meeting do not prove overly prohibitive.
Australian Josh Brookes is the fifth fastest rider ever around the circuit and looks to be well in the mix for podium finishes this year after circulating third fastest in qualifying on his DAO Racing Honda.
The two-time British Superbike champion has a best finish of second in the Senior race in 2024 so will look to emulate that achievement in some of the ‘big bike’ outings.
After much speculation about which machinery he would campaign, Michael Dunlop opted to ride a Hawk Racing Honda in the Superbikes and despite some problems in practice, the record 33-time winner has got faster as the week progressed and can never be discounted for a victory.
Harrison was a double winner in the Superstock category 12 months ago and practice form would indicate that he is in a strong position to add to his career tally of five wins in that class also.
While his best lap time was some 16 seconds faster than his nearest challenger in Superbike qualifying, the now Isle of Man-based rider had almost 27 seconds to spare over BMW-mounted Dunlop, who was second in the qualifying standings in Superstocks.
Harrison’s speed to top the timesheets was 135.484 and he will take all the catching for the two scheduled three-lappers in that class.
Brookes was again well to the fore with the third quickest time, with a host of riders behind him all capable of vying for rostrum places.
Those include Ian Hutchinson, Nathan Harrison, Jamie Coward, Mike Browne, David Johnson, Paul Jordan, Dominic Herbertson and 23-time victor John McGuinness, still competing 30 years after making his TT debut.
Dunlop dominant in lower capacity classes
If Harrison stamped his authority on the larger capacity machinery, Dunlop bossed the sessions for Supersport and Sportbike [formerly Supertwin] bikes, the lap records for which he holds in both cases.
The Northern Ireland rider has been the dominant figure in both classes in recent years, winning the past eight races for Supersports, thereby taking his total tally to a record 15 in the middleweight class.
The 37-year-old is a seven-times winner in the Twins class, including doubles in the past two years, and looks well set to repeat that feat in 2026 should mechanical gremlins not intervene.
Dunlop set an unofficial lap record of 123.557mph on his Paton to give him 20 seconds to spare over Mike Browne, who occupied runner-up spot on the leaderboard.
Hickman, Jordan, Jamie Coward and Michael Evans should contend strongly for top-three placings in the two four-lappers.
Dunlop led Hickman by 18.5 seconds in terms of best lap times in the Supersports, with Harrison and Brookes again showing their pedigree by coming in third and fourth in the overall qualifying speeds.
Harrison has the advantage of competing regularly on his bike in the British Supersport championship, including a maiden finish at the most recent round at Donington Park.
The battle for manufacturing supremacy in that class looks set to be a hotly contended one, with Ducati, Triumph, Honda and Suzuki bikes filling those top four berths.
With two riders so dominant ahead of eight scheduled races, one record to look out for could be Hutchinson’s now 16-year-old record of five individual races in a single race week.
For Dunlop’s part he looks well placed to add to his five previous four-timers, including achieving that in each of the past three years.