Norton Motorcycles’ TT Heritage Celebrated with All-Female Legacy Lap Marking 119 Years of History

Norton teamed up with the Women Riders World Relay to lead a lap around the Isle of Man TT for the first time in years and celebrate the women in the sport we love.

Photo by: Norton Motorcycles

By: Robbie Bacon

Jun 3, at 10:02am ET

Add RideApart as a preferred source in Google

Comment

Norton doesn't hold the most Isle of Man TT (IOM TT) wins; it's not even in the top three. But in terms of being the brand most historically, bordering on romantically, synonymous with the legendary Mountain Course, Norton takes it.

The Solihull-based manufacturer took its first win at the TT in 1907 and had decades of dominance shortly after, but found it hard to come by wins in recent years. So seeing an all-new Norton, in the form of the Manx R, do a lap at the TT is something special, and even more so considering it was in collaboration with the Women Riders World Relay (WRWR).

WRWR was founded to connect women riders globally, building a community around its mission to Connect. The movement holds the record for having completed the world’s largest women-led motorcycle relay, connecting more than 20,000 women riders across 102 countries.

The Legacy Lap was held on Sunday, 31 May 2026, with a group of pioneering women riders leading the closed-road parade on a carefully selected line-up of Norton motorcycles, spanning the company’s history at the TT. Below is a list of the rider and bike pairings:

Carolynn Sells – Norton Manx R
Hayley Bell – Norton Atlas Scrambler (of Peggy Hyde fame)
Liza Miller – Norton Mercury 650
Lisa Brain – Norton Dominator 99
Gloria Perrin – Norton CS1
Gail Sheeley – Norton CJ350
Guliafshan Tariq – Norton Dominator 88

I'd be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to shout out one of the most influential female figures in TT racing, Maria Costello MBE. Costello was involved in a crash during the sidecar qualifying session on May 26, and her current condition is serious but stable. However, she still needs our help, so if you could donate to her GoFundMe or share the donation page, it would go a long way to helping with her medical expenses.

Photo by: Norton Motorcycles

According to a press release from the brand, "Women have played a remarkable role throughout Norton Motorcycles’ history, helping to shape the brand’s legacy of engineering, endurance, and competitive spirit. From Ethel Norton - daughter of company founder James Lansdowne Norton, to pioneering engineer and racer Beatrice Shilling, and Peggy Hyde who famously campaigned the Norton Atlas in desert competition during the 1960s – women riders have long been a part of the Norton company story and racing heritage."

The group brings together some of the most significant women in TT and motorcycling culture. Carolynn Sells is the first and only woman to win a solo race around the Isle of Man Mountain Course, which was at the Manx GP, so it's only fitting that she rode the Manx R. The group is also joined by WRWR founder Hayley Bell, WRWR CEO Liza Miller, WRWR Isle of Man Ambassador Lisa Brain and British-Pakistani adventure motorcyclist Guliafshan Tariq, whose riding story brings a powerful perspective on resilience, independence and women’s visibility in motorcycling.

What do you think?

View

Comments

Bell had this to say about her experience, “Leading the first women-led Legacy Lap at the Isle of Man TT is a huge honour. The TT is one of the most respected events in motorcycling, and to ride alongside women who have helped shape its history, on Norton motorcycles with such a powerful connection to the island, is incredibly special. This lap represents what WRWR stands for: connection, challenge, and change."

We haven't seen a Norton compete at the IOM TT since 2019, but now that the brand has essentially been brought back to life with the help of TVS, hopefully were significantly closer to seeing a Norton lap the Mountain Course in anger once more.