TT GREATS AND HISTORIC MACHINERY HEADLINE 2026 CLASSIC SIDECAR PARADE
Four decades of sidecar racing will be celebrated at the Classic TT this year as 32 outfits from 1966 up to 1990 will take to the Mountain Course for the Classic Sidecar Parade Lap.
Set to take place on Wednesday 26th August, the parade will give spectators the chance to relive - or in some cases experience for the first time - the sights, sounds and smells that have made the Sidecar class one of the most popular across the Isle of Man since its inception.
A real smorgasbord of sidecars will be in action, including twin-cylinder, four-cylinder, 4-stroke and, of course, two-stroke machines showcasing the development of the three-wheeled category across a 24-year period between 1966 and 1990.
Some of the biggest names to grace Sidecar TT entry lists will be out on course, including 17-time TT winner Dave Molyneux, the most successful sidecar driver ever around the Mountain Course. Riding alongside Molyneux will be Dan Sayle, whose eight TT victories places him as the joint second most successful passenger in TT history.
The duo will be riding Molyneux's faithful TR750 Suzuki, inspired by the machine specification that took John Williams to victory in the 1976 Schweppes Classic TT. Beautifully presented, it offers a striking glimpse into sidecar racing's golden age.
Further Sidecar TT winners playing a role in the Parade Lap include 2013 winner Tim Reeves. The eight-time World Sidecar Champion will ride a Windle Yamaha TZ750 from 1980, and will be joined by brother Tristan Reeves in the passenger’s chair, himself a two-time World Champion.
The winner of the opening Sidecar race in 2014, Conrad Harrison, father of seven-time TT winner Dean Harrison, will also be in action aboard a Colin Hopper-built outfit. Elsewhere, solo TT regular Michal Dokoupil will take part in the parade aboard a 1970s BMW-powered outfit alongside close friend Jan Volman.
One pairing turning back the clock will be the husband-and-wife team of two-time winner John Holden and Fiona Baker-Holden. The two never rode together competitively, with Baker-Holden instead passengering for father Tony Baker and Mick Harvey and twice being awarded the Susan Jenness Award for the Most Meritorious Female Competitor in 2011 and 2015. Holden, meanwhile, took victory in 2011 and 2016 with a further 20 podium visits between 2005 and 2003. The two will demonstrate a 1000cc Honda-powered Shelbourne outfit.
The final winner on the list never actually won a Sidecar race outright, but was declared overall winner in 1987. Kenny Howles, who rides an Ireson Suzuki in the parade, finished fifth and second in the two Sidecar races that year, but took the overall victory as the results of both races in the late 1970s and 1980s were added together and an overall winner named on aggregate.
Other outfits to watch for include Greg Lambert and Andrew Haynes on a 1988 Shelbourne Yamaha TZ350, with two-time podium finishing Lambert returning to the type of outfit he made his TT debut on back in 1993.
The parade will also see those who have enjoyed a strong Sidecar career away from the Isle of Man honoured. Derek Brindley will ride a similar outfit to Greg Lambert during the Parade Lap, and although Brindley himself only made one appearance at the TT in 1989 (finishing an impressive fourth in the F2 class), he is better remembered as a regular front runner in the Sidecar World Championship throughout the 1990s.
It’s not just riders with strong pedigree outside the TT, either, and special mention should go to the Ford Dunn Yamaha TZ750 demonstrated by Craig Currie and Justin Sharp. A unique outfit in its own right, powered by “The Beast”, otherwise known as the Yamaha TZ750, it propelled Bruce Ford-Dunn and Alastair Pirie to championship glory in the 1982 British Championship. This high-revving, four-cylinder, two-stroke will be instantly recognisable on course long before you’ve even seen it.
FULL LIST OF MACHINES AND RIDERS
1963- Triumph Bonneville 750 - Alan Cavey / Leila Williams
1968- Nourish Weslake 750 - Juan Christian / Julie Hardisty
1969- Bahder Honda CB750 - Adam Holden / Trevor Johnson
1970- MR Equip BMW 1070 - James Noble / Abi Caiger
1970- BMW 1000 - Michal Dokoupil / Jan Volman
1970- Hewett BSA 750 - Nigel Smith / John Wilkinson
1970- Yamaha 650 - Robert de Jong/ Dafne Lebbing-de Jong
1970- MR Equip Moto Guzzi 1000 - Wal Saunders / Alison de Angelis
1972- Bellas BMW 750 - Adrian Dawson / Alan Cracknell
1972- MR Equip BMW 750 - Alan Warner / Ron Hardy
1972- John Perkins Nourish Weslake - Andy Nourish / MIchiel Leeflang
1972- Suzuki GT750 - Mark Codd / Eamon Mulholland
1972- MR Equip BMW 750 - MIke Cookson / Kenny Cole
1972- Perkins BMW 1040 - Raymond Reeves / Dave Corlett
1975- Ayres Triumph Weslake - Andi Rolli / Beate Rolli
1972- KCR Moorespeed BMW 1066 - Kieran Clarke / Robert Coppock
1972- BLR Imp 1200cc - Rod Bellas / Glenn Dawson
1975- DMR Suzuki TR750 - Dave Molyneux / Dan Sayle
1975- Ireson Suzuki - Kenny Howles / Gary Partridge
1977- Bellas Yamaha TZ750 - Gary Smith / Leslie Frost
1977- CZ Sidecar - Gendrutis Zakarauskas / Svajus Sapnagis
1980- Shelbourne Yamaha TZ350 - Mick Haith / Steve Haith
1980- Windle Yamaha TZ750 - Tim Reeves / Tristan Reeves
1982- Ford-Dunn Yamaha TZ750 - Craig Currie / Justin Sharp
1982- Shelbourne Honda CBX1000 - John Holden / Fiona Baker-Holden
1987- Colin Hopper 350 Armstrong - Conrad Harrison / TBC
1988- Ireson Kimberly Suzuki GT750 - Dean Perry / Mark Perry
1988- Shelbourne Yamaha TZ350 - Derek Brindley / Paul Hutchinson
1988- Shelbourne Yamaha TZ350 - Greg Lambert / Andrew Haynes
1989- Shelbourne Suzuki GSXR110 - George McMahon / Dough Ross
1990- Suzuki GSXR1100 - John Stephenson / Amanda Mason
Nowhere else provides the opportunity to view these historic racers in their natural habitat, blasting down Bray Hill, flying through Kirk Michael, climbing out of Ramsey Hairpin and scaling Snaefell Mountain, and with that in mind, this will be a must-see moment for any sidecar fan.
Don’t miss this opportunity to see history re-imagined before your very eyes on Wednesday 26th August.
