TWO-STROKE TALENT TO LEAD LIGHTWEIGHT CLASSIC TT RETURN

This year’s Lightweight Classic TT will once again feature an eclectic mix of machinery, with the ever-popular 250cc two-strokes lining up alongside a variety of 400cc four-strokes. But as ever, it’s the high-revving 250s expected to be at the sharp end - doing battle at the front for Lightweight race honours.

Ulsterman Adam McLean will lead the way

Leading the field away with the number one plate is Adam McLean. The Ulsterman, who finished second in the same race back in 2018, will ride the Laylaw Racing Yamaha. He’ll be followed ten seconds later by Manxman Joe Yeardsley on a similarly prepared TZ Yamaha for Scott Racing Motorcycles.

Next up, two of the pre-race favourites and team-mates: Mike Browne and Ian Lougher. Browne, a double winner of the Lightweight Manx Grand Prix (2022 and 2023), boasts a 117mph+ lap and starts at number three. Lougher, starting at number four, won last year’s corresponding Manx GP race and brings decades of two-stroke experience to the grid.

Ian Lougher won last year's corresponding MGP Race

Regular frontrunner Stuart Hall goes at number five on the Whippet Racing Yamaha, followed by Michael Dunlop MBE at number six on his self-prepared MD Racing Honda. A multiple TT winner, Dunlop will be looking to turn around his Lightweight luck after a series of mechanical setbacks in recent years.

At number seven, Gareth Arnold carries local hopes on the Janarracing Yamaha, followed by Rhys Hardisty at number eight on the second Laylaw Racing machine. The top ten is rounded out by Dan Sayle on the John Chapman Racing Yamaha and Chris Moore, riding for Outhwaite Plane/Silverstar/iHeat Racing.

The first of the 400cc machines appear at numbers 11 and 12. Local favourite Nathan Harrison lines up for H&H Motorcycles on a Honda, with Craig Neve - returning from injury sustained at the North West 200 - riding for Callmac Scaffolding/RB Engineering.

Michael Sweeney starts at number 13 aboard the 250cc CSC Racing/IMS Ltd Yamaha, followed by a 400cc Kawasaki in the hands of TT veteran Alan Oversby (Pipe Werx/Tony Leach Joinery) at number 14.

Czech rider Michal Dokoupil represents the last of the 250cc entries among the seeded numbers, riding the Cookson Travel Yamaha. The remainder of the top twenty is made up of 400cc machines: Sam West (Bimota Classic Racing), Paul Cassidy (Green Racing Yamaha), Darryl Tweed (M&D Racing Kawasaki), and Jonathan Perry (J.A.P Racing Honda).

With a fiercely competitive grid and a field rich in two-stroke nostalgia, the Lightweight Classic TT promises a race brimming with energy, sound, and speed.

2025 Lightweight Classic TT Seeded Top 20, at a glance: