ELLIS AND CLEMENT SET SIGHTS ON MAIDEN TT PODIUM IN 2026
They’ve already made their mark on the Mountain Course, now the former world champion pairing - Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clément - return in 2026 for their third TT campaign to continue their push towards securing a maiden podium finish.
The Anglo-French pairing will contest the two three-lap Sidecar TT races aboard the Brookland Sand & Aggregates CES Yamaha.
Ellis and Clément, World Sidecar Champions in 2022 and 2023, made an immediate impression on their TT debut in 2024. The duo finished seventh in Race 1, recording a best lap of 113.786mph. That performance saw Ellis awarded the prestigious Peter Chapman Trophy as the best newcomer driver, while Clément became the fastest female sidecar competitor ever to lap the Mountain Course.
They returned in 2025 and made significant strides forward, increasing their pace to 115.065mph and claiming fourth place in both races. On each occasion, they narrowly missed out on the podium, underlining their rapid progression. Their 115mph+ lap places them 11th on the all-time fastest Sidecar TT crews list.
The duo quickly established themselves as genuine podium contenders on the Mountain Course. Their back-to-back World Championships prior to their TT debut outlined their pace, now demonstrating their blend of speed and composure that put them in a strong position heading into the 2026 campaign.
Ellis and Clément, World Sidecar Champions in 2022 and 2023
Should they secure a top-three finish, Clement would become the first female to stand on a TT podium since Julia Bingham finished second in the opening Sidecar race at the Isle of Man TT in 1987. Bingham remains the most successful female competitor in TT history, claiming five podium finishes between 1983 and 1987 alongside husband Dennis. Four of those podiums were second-place finishes, with the first race of 1984 seeing the Nottinghamshire pairing miss out on a famous race win by just two seconds.
Todd Ellis said: “The last two years have been a massive learning curve for us. With every lap, things are starting to feel more comfortable and we can now look to push on and aim for stronger results. It’s shaping up to be an exciting year of racing with the new rules, which should hopefully bring the competition closer and make it all to play for. This feels like just the beginning of what could be an exciting next few years.”
Emmanuelle Clément added: “I am a big dreamer, and becoming a two-time World Champion was unbelievable, but I still want more. At the TT, we have made good progress and being not far from the podium is really exciting. Finishing on any of those three steps would be another dream come true, so that is the main goal for the years ahead, and it continues to give me great motivation.”
With a proven pedigree and increasing Mountain Course experience, Ellis and Clement arrive in 2026 as one of the most credible podium contenders in the Sidecar class. A breakthrough result would represent a significant milestone both for the crew and for TT history.
