Qualifying for the 2026 Isle of Man TT is underway for all classes, in anticipation of race week. Racers and fans alike flock to the IOM each year for the event, happy to spend time among like-minded folks to witness some magnificent racing (that is, those who aren't participating themselves).
Unfortunately, this year has already been rough on several racers. At the time of writing, Daniel Ingham, an experienced road racer who was making his TT debut, died during qualifying yesterday. And two separate crashes resulting in sidecar competitors getting shuttled to hospitals, combined with already-existing safety concerns about sidecar hack speeds this year, have now resulted in the entire sidecar class officially being suspended for the remainder of the 2026 TT.
During Tuesday night's qualifying session, sidecar teammates Maria Costello MBE and Shaun Parker had a serious crash at Brandish. Costello suffered head injuries, and is reported to be in serious but stable condition at Aintree Hospital in Liverpool. Parker, who was the sidecar passenger, is currently receiving treatment for his injuries elsewhere.
And on Wednesday night's qualifying session, sidecar class favorites Ryan and Callum Crowe crashed at Crosby Jump during the first lap of the qualifying session. Both were reportedly conscious and able to speak to the medical team that tended to them, but crashing out only four miles into their first lap clearly wasn't how they hoped the session would go.
Following that incident, race organizers "initiated an immediate technical and operational review to assess the circumstances surrounding the incident and the continued participation of the Sidecar class at the event." And now, they say, they have taken the immediate decision to suspend the Sidecar class for the remainder of the 2026 Isle of Man TT.
That means no further activities in the Sidecar Class, from qualifying to racing, will take place for this year's event. Almost immediately, a petition went up on Change.org begging organizers to rethink this suspension, because the petition-writer views it as just a slippery slope before the Sidecar class is completely removed and does not return to the TT in future years. The petition has evidently struck a nerve, as it's already gone up by over 100 signatures since I opened it about 20 minutes ago. It's here, if you'd like to see it.
