Sidecar Racing May Return To The Isle Of Man TT Next Year After Two Horrific Accidents

After some truly scary sidecar crashes during qualifying in 2026, organizers canceled the entire class and embarked on a review. Here's the first report.

Photo by: IOMTT

By: Janaki Jitchotvisut

Aug 4, at 9:42am ET

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After the Isle of Man TT organizers formally announced the suspension of the entire sidecar class following some extremely scary crashes during qualifying week, many people were justifiably worried about the future of sidecar racing. Seeking to allay those fears, TT organizers stressed that it would be a sustainability review, not just a short-term (and potentially short-sighted) fix.

And now, to start off August 2026, the organizers have come through with their first official report on the matter. To be clear, this isn't a one-and-done sort of thing; instead, it's meant to take a measured and step-by-step approach to identifying the full sustainability of sidecar racing, potentially with an eye to a return in 2027 with significant changes, as well as additional changes down the line into the future.

This First Stage Report, as they're calling it, was meant to gather evidence from multiple sources: Public comment, a panel comprised of 10 current sidecar competitors, a panel comprised of TT organization members, and another panel comprised of technical personnel involved with the sport. In truth, input from all four groups makes sense to include, as any decision made cannot proceed without all four groups, and will also affect all four groups considerably.

What Did They Find?

The full report is 21 pages long, with additional linked appendices that delve into some of the finer details addressed. Overall, though, the evidence gathered suggests that there is "a credible pathway for Sidecar racing to return to the Isle of Man TT in 2027, subject to the successful development and implementation of an initial risk-reduction package. The immediate priority is to convert the emerging technical philosophy into a practical, measurable, and enforceable TT 2027 specification."

If there's one particularly important thing to note here, it's that any decisions made on changes for Sidecar racing in 2027 will likely be temporary. There is, in fact, a full timeline laid out in the pages of this initial report that establishes deadlines for various working groups to hammer out a workable path (from all sides) for "a future TT Sidecar class," keeping safety, stability, strength, simplicity, affordability, fairness, enforceability, and, of course, maintenance of the Sidecar category's distinctive character in mind.

This will be a phased process, with Phase One consisting of working on the immediate plans for 2027. To quote directly from the report, this phase will include the following:

a significant reduction in engine performance and top speed
a more tightly controlled engine specification, using a control ECU, restrictor, rev limit or equivalent mechanism
gearing controls where required to enforce the speed objective
minimum weight and other straightforward stability measures
basic bodywork and dimensional controls, including improved access for marshals and medical personnel
retention and strengthening of effective fluid-containment requirements
chassis inspection, repair certification and a documented technical history
enhanced scrutineering, verification, and compliance procedures
stronger qualification, recent-activity, medical and professional standards

What do you think?

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From there, the plan is to evolve engineering and regulatory standards for the category, as well as to engage in a program of continuous improvement as needed. Instead of simply saying "this is how we've done things, so this is how we're going to do things," the idea is to keep evolving the category so that it can remain safer for competitors and spectators alike, as well as more viable on multiple levels to continue for the enjoyment and enrichment of all.

It sounds quite nice on paper, and of course I'm hopeful that these objectives can all be met. Will all of this work out as well as I suspect many people are hoping? Your guess is as good as mine.