Isle of Man TT practice halted after Parliament Square incident

TT 2026

Opening day cut short at Parliament Square

The TT got off to an awful start today when an unnamed rider came off his machine on the exit of Parliament Square, and his bike went into the crowd, injuring eight spectators. The incident, which occurred during the untimed Superbike/Superstock session, was immediately deemed a red-flag situation.

Free practice had been ongoing since 1100, but with no official timing, the day up until that point had really been about bedding in and getting back into the swing of things with a view to upping the ante for the evening’s timed sessions. The stoppage occurred at 1330, and the majority of the course remained closed for the next four hours, with periodic announcements throughout the afternoon that provided very little information.

Peter Hickman rolls out with the Supersport field during the opening day of TT 2026 practice.

It’s always been the case that at the TT, no news is bad news. When a non-serious incident happens, the organisers are usually fairly forthcoming with information. Against the backdrop of Alan Oversby’s death yesterday, things really didn’t feel good. Today’s prolonged uncertainty lent a foreboding sense that a tragedy of some kind had once again visited the island.

When the official announcement finally came, there was thankfully no mention of any fatalities. It also relayed the news that all eight spectators who required treatment were said to be ‘conscious’. The rider involved was described as ‘conscious and talking’ but receiving treatment for leg injuries. Those were the positives.

The bad news was that it also mentioned that ‘serious incident response procedures’ were implemented and that all racing activity was suspended for the rest of the day. Given the window of opportunity that today’s glorious sunshine provided, it’s unlikely that that decision was taken lightly, and you’d imagine that there is a darker twist to this story yet to be revealed.

Conor Cummins and Jamie Coward stretch their legs on the Mountain Course during Monday’s Supersport session.

Dunlop answers one major machinery question

Things had been going really well up until that point, and there were already some big talking points. Michael Dunlop had decided that the Honda Fireblade he had raced in the Superbike races at the North West 200 was also the tool for the job on ‘the island’ and had been out in the untimed session on the Hawk Racing machine. This put to bed weeks of speculation about the direction he would go.

Michael Dunlop heads away from the TT Grandstand during the opening Superbike/Superstock practice session on the Hawk Honda

MD had also been out for a spin on board his Superstock BMW, and so there were no major surprises this year as far as last-minute machinery reveals go for MD Racing.

Bourne withdraws before newcomer lap

Another news story was that high-profile debutant, Franco Bourne, announced that he wouldn’t be competing after all, just before he was due to start his Newcomer’s lap at 1045. It’s unclear exactly why he’s made the decision at this point, but his social media page put out a short statement that read, ‘Isle of Man TT 2026 update to follow!! Thank you to everyone for the support.’

All will be revealed in due course. But it will be disappointing not to see the ex-Honda racing BSB rider take to the track.

Hollywood’s Channing Tatum and Eve Hewson were prominent in and around the Grandstand area as filming began for the new Amazon MGM movie being shot at this year’s TT. It was quite interesting to see them work in tandem with their stunt doubles as normal TT life carried on around them.

Josh Brookes works through the early laps of Supersport practice on the Mountain Course.

James Hiller and Lucas Maurer are not racing at this year’s event as they have been employed by the film’s producers to work on the movie instead. You’d imagine that there is some serious money going their way to convince them to miss out on a TT.

First timed sessions now scheduled for Tuesday

Tomorrow evening, action recommences with a Superstock/Superbike session at 1830. That’s followed by Supersport/Sportsbike at 1920 and Sidecars at 2015. These will be the first timed sessions of the festival, and everyone will be keen to get a trouble-free evening and some good, solid miles under their belts. Once again, weather conditions look favourable.

A sidecar crew threads through the Mountain Course during Monday’s opening Isle of Man TT practice.