IOM TT26

[Sidecar Man]

Holden and Hyde tackle TT 2026

Former TT Winner John Holden is pairing up with experienced passenger; Phil Hyde for a return to the TT in 2026, on the Carl Cox backed DMR chassis used by son George Holden this year.
John is itching to get back after taking a year out to help son George at his first TT. John commented, "there's nothing like the TT and I really missed it this year being there: but not riding. I'm very happy to have Phil on board, as I believe he is one of the most experienced and accomplished passengers. I'm really looking forward to working together."
John went on to say that none of it would be possible, without the continued backing of his regular, loyal sponsors and is extremely grateful of their support of him.

Phil has missed a few years at the TT, after Gary Bryan: his previous driver retired.
Phil said, "I've missed the TT so much that when John offered me the opportunity: I jumped at the chance to ride with such a TT Stalwart. I can't wait to get started!"

If anyone is interested in being part of John and Phil's TT 2026 story, they should message either of them.


Looks like I'm back there next year. Can't wait

[Rob 131 Sport]

Great story and I wish them all the best in their TT journey.

Whilst the TT in my opinion is the best racing event ever and the island is truly magical, after 8 consecutive years of going (less COVID) I’m going to give it a miss next year.

I went this year on my own (I usually go with the wife and friends) and I just found the waiting around and constant schedule changes a real chore. I recognise this is part of the TT and the organisers do a fantastic job, and I’m sure after a year off I’ll be itching to get back.

[Alex@POD]

Fantastic news Phil! Have you ridden with John much already?

[Sidecar Man]

Alex@POD said:

Fantastic news Phil! Have you ridden with John much already?

No Not yet. Getting bike Ready for back end of year to do a couple of rounds on it.

[Regbuser]

Rob 131 Sport said:

Great story and I wish them all the best in their TT journey.

Whilst the TT in my opinion is the best racing event ever and the island is truly magical, after 8 consecutive years of going (less COVID) I’m going to give it a miss next year.

I went this year on my own (I usually go with the wife and friends) and I just found the waiting around and constant schedule changes a real chore. I recognise this is part of the TT and the organisers do a fantastic job, and I’m sure after a year off I’ll be itching to get back.

Possibly going solo amplifies the waiting around; when with mates all the banter fills this in.

Anyway, planning to go next year, best racing in the world, evvar !

[Rob 131 Sport]

Regbuser said:

Rob 131 Sport said:

Great story and I wish them all the best in their TT journey.

Whilst the TT in my opinion is the best racing event ever and the island is truly magical, after 8 consecutive years of going (less COVID) I’m going to give it a miss next year.

I went this year on my own (I usually go with the wife and friends) and I just found the waiting around and constant schedule changes a real chore. I recognise this is part of the TT and the organisers do a fantastic job, and I’m sure after a year off I’ll be itching to get back.

Possibly going solo amplifies the waiting around; when with mates all the banter fills this in.

Anyway, planning to go next year, best racing in the world, evvar !

That’s true and this year was particularly bad. I went on the Thursday afternoon, back on the Sunday night and effectively only saw Friday’s first practice plus a few snippets and no actual racing. I usually go for a full week.

I think it was on the Chasin the Racing podcast that someone mentioned that this year’s TT drained the riders and the crews with all the disruption.

[PorkInsider]

Great to see you coming back to the TT, Phil.

Having read your posts on here, watching out for you and Gary on the live coverage and in the timing and results always added a bit more excitement to the sidecars for me.

[PorkInsider]

Rob 131 Sport said:

Regbuser said:

Rob 131 Sport said:

Great story and I wish them all the best in their TT journey.

Whilst the TT in my opinion is the best racing event ever and the island is truly magical, after 8 consecutive years of going (less COVID) I’m going to give it a miss next year.

I went this year on my own (I usually go with the wife and friends) and I just found the waiting around and constant schedule changes a real chore. I recognise this is part of the TT and the organisers do a fantastic job, and I’m sure after a year off I’ll be itching to get back.

Possibly going solo amplifies the waiting around; when with mates all the banter fills this in.

Anyway, planning to go next year, best racing in the world, evvar !

That’s true and this year was particularly bad. I went on the Thursday afternoon, back on the Sunday night and effectively only saw Friday’s first practice plus a few snippets and no actual racing. I usually go for a full week.

I think it was on the Chasin the Racing podcast that someone mentioned that this year’s TT drained the riders and the crews with all the disruption.

Yep it really was a particularly bad year for the waiting around and the changes.

I was also there on my own - Mon to Thurs race week - and even though I got to see quite a bit of racing it was still tiresome at times.

Especially so when I twice travelled from Douglas up to The Bungalow via bus and rail only for racing to be called off after multiple 1hr delays - which of course means you just end up hanging on a bit longer in hope before calling it a day.

Can't fault the organisers obviously, they're always doing the best they can for everyone, but it certainly knocks the wind out of one's sails...

[Ronzx6r]

whats this about getting rid of superbikes for road racing ?

[Alex@POD]

Ronzx6r said:

whats this about getting rid of superbikes for road racing ?

That's the IIRC championship, I don't think there's been any word whether the TT will follow suit...

[Sidecar Man]

Ronzx6r said:

whats this about getting rid of superbikes for road racing ?

Not at TT 1000cc still running there

[towser44]

Sidecar Man said:

Ronzx6r said:

whats this about getting rid of superbikes for road racing ?

Not at TT 1000cc still running there

Superbikes as in the Superbike spec but keeping Superstock spec or getting rid of 1000cc altogether?

[Alex@POD]

towser44 said:

Superbikes as in the Superbike spec but keeping Superstock spec or getting rid of 1000cc altogether?

The International Road Racing Championship runs only 2 classes, Supersport and Superbike. Superbike is being replaced by Supertwins for cost and safety reasons. TT is not affected by this change.

[PorkInsider]

A few interesting updates to the schedule and classes for 2026:

https://www.iomttraces.com/latest/news/updated-sch...

Notably: Supertwins becomes SportBike, with both categories of bike allowed and a rest day is now included in practice week.

[Alex@POD]

PorkInsider said:

A few interesting updates to the schedule and classes for 2026:

https://www.iomttraces.com/latest/news/updated-sch...

Notably: Supertwins becomes SportBike, with both categories of bike allowed and a rest day is now included in practice week.

I wondered if we'd see something like this happen for the Supertwins as it felt strange to have the same bikes running in different classes across championships.

[PorkInsider]

Alex@POD said:

PorkInsider said:

A few interesting updates to the schedule and classes for 2026:

https://www.iomttraces.com/latest/news/updated-sch...

Notably: Supertwins becomes SportBike, with both categories of bike allowed and a rest day is now included in practice week.

I wondered if we'd see something like this happen for the Supertwins as it felt strange to have the same bikes running in different classes across championships.

I suppose it marks the change away from Supertwins being a specific engine configuration (err...twin) to a broader scope, now including triples and 4-cyl with performance balancing, which is in line with how Supersport has gone.

Will be interesting to see how the Patons get on given the huge investment many teams will have made in buying those bikes (£100k+ ?). Padgett's for example, buying one for Todd to ride this year, which will still be eligible next year but will be fighting with bargain basement CFMoto 675s, etc.

[PorkInsider]

Alex@POD said:

PorkInsider said:

A few interesting updates to the schedule and classes for 2026:

https://www.iomttraces.com/latest/news/updated-sch...

Notably: Supertwins becomes SportBike, with both categories of bike allowed and a rest day is now included in practice week.

I wondered if we'd see something like this happen for the Supertwins as it felt strange to have the same bikes running in different classes across championships.

I suppose it marks the change away from Supertwins being a specific engine configuration (err...twin) to a broader scope, now including triples and 4-cyl with performance balancing, which is in line with how Supersport has gone.

Will be interesting to see how the Patons get on given the huge investment many teams will have made in buying those bikes (£100k+ ?). Padgett's for example, buying one for Todd to ride this year, which will still be eligible next year but will be fighting with bargain basement CFMoto 675s, etc.

[Rob 131 Sport]

PorkInsider said:

Rob 131 Sport said:

Regbuser said:

Rob 131 Sport said:

Great story and I wish them all the best in their TT journey.

Whilst the TT in my opinion is the best racing event ever and the island is truly magical, after 8 consecutive years of going (less COVID) I’m going to give it a miss next year.

I went this year on my own (I usually go with the wife and friends) and I just found the waiting around and constant schedule changes a real chore. I recognise this is part of the TT and the organisers do a fantastic job, and I’m sure after a year off I’ll be itching to get back.

Possibly going solo amplifies the waiting around; when with mates all the banter fills this in.

Anyway, planning to go next year, best racing in the world, evvar !

That’s true and this year was particularly bad. I went on the Thursday afternoon, back on the Sunday night and effectively only saw Friday’s first practice plus a few snippets and no actual racing. I usually go for a full week.

I think it was on the Chasin the Racing podcast that someone mentioned that this year’s TT drained the riders and the crews with all the disruption.

Yep it really was a particularly bad year for the waiting around and the changes.

I was also there on my own - Mon to Thurs race week - and even though I got to see quite a bit of racing it was still tiresome at times.

Especially so when I twice travelled from Douglas up to The Bungalow via bus and rail only for racing to be called off after multiple 1hr delays - which of course means you just end up hanging on a bit longer in hope before calling it a day.

Can't fault the organisers obviously, they're always doing the best they can for everyone, but it certainly knocks the wind out of one's sails...

Whilst I’ve decided not to go next year (until I have a last minute change of mind) out of curiosity I looked a few days ago on the Steam Packet website and there is still a lot of availability in the TT period.
I can’t remember in recent years seeing this as most crossings seems to sell out when they are first released in May. I’m sure I’ll regret not going as we are in a truly golden age with the top 4 of Dunlop, Harrison, Hickman and Todd.