Isle of Man TT Stats

Isle of Man TT: Records and Stats

Top 25 Fastest Riders – Solos 

Ever since the Isle of Man TT got underway in 1907 milestones have continually been achieved, none more so than with the outright lap record.

Bob McIntyre recorded the first 100mph lap in 1957 with John Williams (1976) and Steve Hislop (1989) breaking the 110mph and 120mph barriers respectively.

It was John McGuinness who had the honour of breaking the 130mph barrier in 2007 and although speeds had relatively levelled out, increasing in small increments, that all changed in 2018 with Dean Harrison and then Peter Hickman smashing the outright lap record, the latter being the first rider to lap the Mountain Course at more than 135mph.

McGuinness had held the outright lap record from 2004 until 2014 when Bruce Anstey set the first ever 132mph+ lap only for the Morecambe man to reclaim it in 2015 with a lap of 132.701mph. However, with some superb weather, 2016 saw some sensational speeds by Michael Dunlop as he became the first man to break both the 133mph and sub-17m barriers.

Dunlop breaks 133mph barrier

The Ulsterman recorded no less than four 133mph+ laps, two in the Superbike and two in the Senior, almost lapping at 134mph in the latter as the Mountain Course narrowly missed out on becoming the fastest road race circuit in the world currently in use.

Ian Hutchinson also lapped at more than 133mph and whilst Dunlop set three out of the six best-ever sector times, Hutchinson took two of them and in the Superstock class too as opposed to the Superbike class.

Hickman and Harrison dominate

The records only stood for two years though as Harrison and Hickman took racing around the 37.73-mile circuit to heights never seen before in 2018. Harrison firstly did it in the opening Superbike race, smashing the lap record from a standing start after lapping at 134.432mph and then a titanic battle in the Senior between the Kawasaki rider and Hickman changed things again.

Harrison improved his lap time to 134.918mph but Hickman flashed over the line shortly afterwards at a breathtaking 135.452mph with the first, and to date only, 135mph+ lap. All six sectors were broken, five of those coming in the Senior with Steve Plater’s long-standing time from 2009 between Ramsey and the Bungalow – of which no-one had previously got to within three tenths of a second – being bettered by Hickman by almost four seconds!

The ideal lap – combining the six best sector times ever set – was improved by a massive 13 seconds and now stands at 16m35.711s (136.413 mph) with Hickman’s actual outright lap record 7.067s adrift

Despite of the good weather at TT2018, there were no new members of the ‘130mph Club’, but Davey Todd and Jamie Coward became the latest additions in 2019 with Todd moving up to tenth in 2022 after his first 132mph+ lap. Conor Cummins broke the 133mph barrier for the first time in 2022 to move from sixth to fourth whilst Coward improved slightly to remain the fastest rider ever on a Yamaha.

Su = Supbike, S = Senior, St = Superstock

Top 10 Fastest TT Newcomers 

It was back in 2004 when Guy Martin became the first newcomer at the TT to break the 120mph barrier, the Lincolnshire rider smashing the previous best mark of 116.65mph with his lap of 122.10mph.

Since then, an additional 44 newcomers have broken the 120mph barrier and Martin’s lap stood until 2007 when British Champion Steve Plater raised the bar to 125.808mph. Like Martin, Plater scored a best result of seventh in his debut year.

Plater’s mark stood for an impressive six years with the late Simon Andrews just coming short in his first island appearance in 2011. It was left to Josh Brookes to take over the accolade in 2013 with the Tyco Suzuki rider lapping at 127.726mph in the opening Superbike race. Inclement weather in practice meant the Australian had limited track time and he would probably have gone quicker in the Senior had it not been for mechanical trouble on the opening lap.

Brookes vs Hickman

Many thought Brookes’ lap would stand for some time but it only lasted 12 months before another British Superbike Championship regular, Peter Hickman, took over at the top. Like Plater and Brookes, Hickman’s research and dedication to learning the 37 and ¾-mile course left no stone unturned and he posted a best lap in excess of 129mph and he’s since become the fastest rider of all time with his lap of 135.452mph in 2018.

Michael Booth was the fastest newcomer at TT2016 with his best lap of 122.597mph seeing him just fail to break into the top ten and although there were only three newcomers in 2017 (who only competed in the Supersport and Lightweight races), Adam McLean’s lap of 120.644mph made him the fifth fastest newcomer ever on a 600cc machine.

However, a big change happened in 2018 when Davey Todd set stunning lap times throughout the fortnight to better Brookes’ speed from 2013 and become the then second fastest newcomer ever with a lap of 128.379mph. Meanwhile, despite the horrendous weather and lack of practice laps in 2019, Swiss rider Lukas Maurer put in some impressive performances to become the ninth fastest newcomer of all time.

However, when British Superbike Championship race winner Glenn Irwin announced he’d be making his TT debut in 2020, many thought he’d be the first newcomer to break the 130mph barrier. The multiple North West 200 winner had to wait until 2022 before he could finally make his debut and he duly delivered with a lap in the Superbike race of 129.849mph to finally better Hickman’s mark from eight years before. Hopes of a 130mph+ lap were dashed though when he was forced to retire from the closing Senior race.

Laps at 130mph plus

As mentioned, it was John McGuinness who set the first ever 130mph lap, fittingly in the Centennial event of 2007, and the Morecambe Missile continued to lead the way for having posted the most 130mph+ laps under racing conditions up until 2016.

His injury-hit year of 2014 allowed Michael Dunlop to close in and although he suffered his own trials and tribulations in 2015, the Northern Ireland rider joined McGuinness at the top of the pile. However, with Dunlop back to his scintillating best in 2016 and 2017, he’s now the outright leader with 18 more 130mph+ laps than the new second placed rider which, after the 2022 meeting, is now Dean Harrison.

One of the most consistent TT riders since 2016, Harrison – along with Peter Hickman and Conor Cummins – overhauled James Hillier during the 2022 event after the latter failed to record a single 130mph+ racing lap for the first time since 2012.

Hickman’s ascendancy continues at pace, quite literally, and he’s now just three laps behind Harrison, the Burton upon Trent rider recording the most 130mph+ laps at TT2022 to move up to third. Indeed, whilst Dunlop has more 131mph+ laps than anyone, Hickman has recorded more 132, 133, 134 and 135mph+ laps than anyone else which highlights his domination of late.

John McGuinness dropped from fourth to sixth after the 2022 meeting when he, like Hillier, failed to register a 130mph+ lap and that was true of now seventh placed Ian Hutchinson.

With McGuinness and Hutchinson, arguably, in the twilight of their careers, only time will tell if they get back in amongst the 130mph+ lap laps but they remain comfortably clear of Bruce Anstey, Guy Martin and Michael Rutter who complete the top ten.

The 130mph lap is now the benchmark at the TT and the speed at which success is measured. Only laps in excess of 130mph will see you finish in the top six and, indeed, sometimes they’re required to make it into the top ten.

Laps at 125mph plus

The late David Jefferies set the first ever 125mph+ lap of the Mountain Course back in 2000 with John McGuinness joining him in 2002. After that, the latter became the dominant force of the TT races and it was no surprise to see him at the top of this particular chart for so long despite missing both the 2016 and 2017 meetings due to injury.

However, not only did he fail to record a 130mph+ lap in 2019, he also failed to record one at more than 125mph and that allowed Michael Dunlop to close to within three of his total, And, as expected, the positions changed in 2022 with Dunlop finally overhauling McGuinness after a stronger meeting on both the 1000cc and 600cc machines, especially the latter where he was lapping at 129mph+ compared to McGuinness’s best of 121mph.

There was change further behind too with Bruce Anstey, who last competed at the TT in 2017, dropping from third to sixth with Dean Harrison, James Hillier and Ian Hutchinson all moving ahead of him.

Harrison sits in third, one ahead of Hillier who, in turn, is one ahead of Hutchinson but they’re still more than 30 adrift of Dunlop and McGuinness so it’ll be some time before the top two change.

Conor Cummins dropped back a place despite a strong 2022 meeting but Michael Rutter moved up from tenth to eighth as he moved ahead of both Gary Johnson, who struggled in 2022, and the now retired Guy Martin.

Rutter became the tenth rider to put in more than 100 racing laps at more than 125mph but 11^th placed Peter Hickman can be expected to join the group soon after posting an impressive 18 125mph+ laps in 2022 to move up to 11^th overall.

Laps at 120mph plus

It’s now more than 30 years since the first 120mph lap was recorded with Steve Hislop going in the record books forever with his feats of 1989.

Since then, a whopping 248 more riders have lapped at more than 120mph, six new riders achieving this feat in 2022, and now, the likes of Michael Dunlop, Peter Hickman and Dean Harrison can lap at more than 120mph on every racing lap they complete, even when time is added for pitting for fuel and tyres.

McGuinness has comfortably set more 120mph+ laps than any other rider with 276 being recorded over a 23-year period. Bruce Anstey sat in second for some time but Michael Dunlop moved clear of him in 2022 with the Kiwi again absent from racing.

James Hillier jumped up to fourth after another solid meeting in 2022 but he’s only one ahead of Conor Cummins with Ian Hutchinson just a further six behind.

Despite a disappointing year, Gary Johnson moved up to seventh in 2022 at the expense of ten-time TT winner and now retired, from the TT at least, Ian Lougher. Further back, Michael Rutter and Guy Martin swapped places with Rutter having another solid year on the island.

Leading winners – Solos (8 wins or more)

When Joey Dunlop took his 26^th and last TT win in 2000, many thought that total would never be beaten, especially as it was 12 more than anyone else had at the time and that figure was greater going back to those riders that were still competing.

However, records are there to be broken and the form of John McGuinness has allowed him to continually close the gap and his two wins in 2015 mean he’s now just three behind Dunlop. However, he’s failed to win a race since then and it could well be that the Dunlop name is the one to break Joey’s tally as nephew Michael’s hat-trick in 2018, a further victory in 2019 and then two more in 2022 moved him on to a total of 21 wins – and he’s still only 33 years old.

Dunlop, Grant and Haslam battling it out in 1980… 

Joey Dunlop and McGuinness still hold the advantage although Michael now only needs five wins to match his uncle, something he could achieve in the next 3-4 years if he stays free of injury. Ian Hutchinson is next up on 16, the Bingley rider’s last wins coming in 2017 and pulling clear of Mike Hailwood. He returned from injury in 2018 but has yet to get back to his best so only time will tell if he can get back to race-winning form.

The recent success of Hutchinson and Dunlop has pushed all-time great Hailwood down to fifth overall but the fact his final win was as far back as 1979 shows just how good he was.

Sixth outright now is Kiwi Bruce Anstey, whose two successive TT Zero wins in 2016 and 2017 has put him onto 12 victories and one ahead of two more greats – Steve Hislop and Phillip McCallen – who both recorded 11 victories.

Current star Peter Hickman is edging ever closer to double figures and his four-timer in 2022 moved him on to a career total of nine, all achieved in the space of three meetings.

Leading Podium Finishes – Solos (16 podiums or more)

Joey Dunlop may top the chart for the most wins but when it comes to podiums, John McGuinness is the leader with 47 podiums having been taken over a 22-year period, the latest of which came with second place in the 2019 TT Zero race.

Dunlop’s 40 podiums were taken over a slightly longer period of 23 years although third place Bruce Anstey’s total of 37 podiums is perhaps more impressive than both Dunlop and McGuinness given that his total is over the considerably shorter period of 17 years.

Maybe more impressive than that though is the 32 podiums already achieved by new fourth placed rider Michael Dunlop, his total coming across a 13-year period which includes the two years of 2020 and 2021 when no racing took place due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He pulled clear of Ian Lougher in 2022, the Welshman taking podiums across the classes with his 29^th podium – third in the 2019 TT Zero race – coming ten years after his 28^th and some 35 years after his first!! He’s two ahead of Ian Hutchinson who took 11 successive rostrums from the 2015 Superbike race through to the 2017 Superstock race, a phenomenal achievement, whilst Charlie Williams’ seventh place is particularly impressive given he retired more than three decades ago.

Two of the current form men, Peter Hickman and Dean Harrison, both now have a total of 19 podiums to sit in joint eighth overall, Hickman’s coming in just four years, with Michael Rutter’s tally of 18 podiums now just one short of his father Tony’s total which was taken over just a 13-year period compared to Michael’s 23.

Meanwhile, Guy Martin’s 17 podiums make him the only rider with 16 podiums or more not to have taken a win, a statistic he probably doesn’t need reminding of!

Statistical information provided by Phil Wain.

Top 25 Fastest Riders – Sidecars

It was way back in 1977 that the first 100mph lap was recorded by a sidecar team, Dick Greasley and Mick Skeels having that particular honour with the 108mph+ record laps of Jock Taylor/Benga Johansson (1982) and Mick Boddice/Chas Birks (1989) remaining in the record books for some time before the F2 class speeds increased.

The honour of the first 110mph lap went to Dave Molyneux/Peter Hill in 1996 and the outright lap record remained in the hands of the Manx contingent – whether Molyneux or Nick Crowe – right up until 2016 when Ben and Tom Birchall finally reclaimed it for England, the duo increasing it ever since.

Molyneux held the record from 1996 until 2007 when Crowe and Daniel Sayle set a lap of 116.667mph which looked like it could well last forever as no-one got near it over the next seven years. However, that all changed in 2015 when Molyneux and Ben Binns and the Birchall’s went head to head throughout the second race.

Molyneux and Binns

It was the Manx pairing of Molyneux and Binns that just shaded it in a thrilling final lap only for the Birchall’s to go quicker still in the first race of 2016 although they retired on the final lap. However, they bounced back to win the second with more 116mph+ laps.

The Birchall’s increased their lap record to even greater heights in both 2017 and 2018, setting the first ever 117, 118 and 119mph+ laps around the Mountain Course on three wheels, the latter seeing them record the first ever sub 19-minute lap by a sidecar, a truly phenomenal feat. John Holden and Tim Reeves also broke the old lap record to move up to second and third overall at the time.

Lewis Blackstock/Patrick Rosney set their first ever 110mph+ lap in 2017 with Estelle Leblond becoming the first female driver to achieve the landmark a year later, her passenger Melanie Farnier now also the fastest ever female passenger. Melanie went quicker still in 2022, lapping at 111.053mph in 2022.

One of the most phenomenal achievements of recent years came in 2019 when Ryan and Callum Crowe, sons of former winner Nick Crowe, lapped at more than 113mph on just their third lap of the Mountain Course to become the fastest sidecar newcomers in the history of the TT.

After the break due to the pandemic, they returned with Honda, rather than Triumph, power in 2022 and immediately lapped at more than 118mph, just over six seconds slower than the Birchalls, and now sit in third overall. Peter Founds/Jevan Walmsley lapped over a second quicker in the same race in 2022 to move up to second quickest, both crews putting considerable pressure on the Birchalls.

Newcomers Lee Crawford and Harry Payne lapped at 112.357mph and 111.166mph respectively in 2022 and 34 drivers have now lapped at more than 110mph.

Leading winner – Sidecar drivers (3 or more)

When it comes to outright winners in the sidecar class, there’s no doubt Dave Molyneux is head and shoulders above everyone else and his tally of 17 wins – fourth overall behind Joey Dunlop, John McGuinness and Michael Dunlop – is phenomenal given the fact he’s only had two opportunities a year to add to his total. He’s also missed a number of years when on duty elsewhere so it’s reasonable to suggest he could have topped 20 by now if it wasn’t for that.

However, his total is coming under increasing threat with another double for Ben Birchall in 2022 moving him on to 12 victories and given the Nottinghamshire driver’s won every race bar one (when he retired) since 2015, he has a great chance of breaking the Manxman’s record.

Rob Fisher is the next best with 10 wins, the Cumbrian being Molyneux’s main rival throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, and joint fourth on nine victories remains Siegfried Schauzu, Mick Boddice and Dave Saville, the latter’s victories all coming in the Formula Two class.

The list below includes some of the greatest sidecar exponents ever with World Champions Jock Taylor, Klaus Enders, Rolf Steinhausen, Max Deubel, Walter Schneider and Klaus Klaffenbock all featuring.

Leading winners – Sidecar passengers (3 or more)

Sidecar passengers are a unique breed but there can be no denying they’re as important as the driver when it comes to winning races, especially at the TT. Their knowledge of the course and knowing what the driver is doing, and where, is paramount to their success and whilst some of the passengers below all achieved their success with one driver – Chas Birks, Tom Birchall and Benga Johansson, for example – others haven’t which further proves their credentials.

Rick Long’s wins came with two drivers, Fisher (6) and Molyneux (2) whilst Sayle has been victorious with three, Molyneux (4), Klaffenbock (3) and Tim Reeves (1).

Long and Sayle had led the way with eight wins for some time but Tom Birchall’s double victory with brother Ben in 2019 saw him overhaul them and become the most successful TT passenger of all time. He extended that record in 2022 with yet another double.

Leading podium finishes – Sidecar drivers (6 or more)

As expected, Molyneux is again the leading driver when it comes to TT podiums and a phenomenal statistic is that out of the 37 TT Races he’s finished, he’s been on the podium in 30 of them. That also places him fifth overall with only John McGuinness, Joey Dunlop, Bruce Anstey and Michael Dunlop ahead of him, another remarkable feat given he only gets two races a year compared to the six of the solo riders.

The Manxman is still as quick as ever and although he’s now been competing at the TT for over 30 years, he still has rostrum finishes in him as seen by a third place in 2017. At present, it looks like his tally will never be beaten.

Next up is John Holden whose brace of podiums in 2019 not only saw him record a superb 12 in a row but also overhaul Mick Boddice for second. Ben Birchall’s brace of wins in 2022 sees him move up to joint fourth overall.

Leading podium finishers – Sidecar passengers (6 or more)

It’s tight at the top for the highest number of podium finishes by a sidecar passenger but Dan Sayle’s third place in the opening race of 2017 gave him the top spot outright, finally ending Wolfgang Kalauch’s long reign in the number one place.

Sayle’s podiums have come with five different drivers – Dave Molyneux, Klaus Klaffenbock, John Holden, Tim Reeves and Greg Lambert – and covers a 14-year period, two more than German Kalauch. He partnered some of the sport’s greats and his podiums also came with five different drivers – Helmut Fath, Klaus Enders, Rolf Steinhausen, Siegfried Schauzu and Georg Auerbacher, the first three all World Champions.

Tom Birchall moved alongside Kalauch in 2022 with his 13^th and 14^th podium finishes and he has every chance of breaking Sayle’s record in 2023. Next up is Andy Winkle who took 12 podiums with John Holden and one with Conrad Harrison, the latter coming in 2017.

Chas Birks achieved all 10 of his podiums with Mick Boddice whilst Lee Cain became the latest passenger to record six podiums or more with his brace in 2019 with John Holden seeing the Manxman make it six podiums in a row.

Current Lap Records

Current Race Records

Information provided by Phil Wain.

You’ve got all the stats, now let’s find out more about the riders who set them!