Isle of Man TT: Six big talking points for the 2023 road race

The Isle of Man TT is one of the most challenging and unforgiving motorsport events in the world, the ultimate test for both riders and machines.

This year's races will again see riders from across the globe converge on the small island on the Irish Sea to fulfil their dreams and chase their targets on the daunting 37.73-mile Mountain Course.

As the meeting revs into gear for 2023 with first practice and qualifying on Monday, we examine some of the big talking points.

Having added four wins last year to the two he recorded in 2018 and the three he achieved in 2019, Peter Hickman is again set to be the man to beat at this year's event.

The Burton-upon-Trent rider triumphed in the Superbike, Senior, Superstock and Supertwins races 12 months ago.

The absolute course record holder again opts for continuity in his team and choice of machines, apart from swapping his Paton for a Yamaha in the Supertwins races.

Dean Harrison, winner of three races, but having stood on the podium 20 times in his TT career, will hope to turn some of his accustomed rostrum finishes into wins as he begins another campaign with the DAO Racing Kawasaki outfit.

Michael Dunlop was a double winner in the Supersports in 2022, and will again start as one of the favourites for all the races he is competing in.

The Northern Ireland rider will hope to make an impact on his Hawk Racing Honda, having failed to challenge for the main honours on the big bikes last time out.

Dunlop's form on the Superbike and Superstock at the recent North West 200 would indicate that he has gelled with his new machinery and will be a major threat to his rivals' recent dominance.

Brothers Ben and Tom Birchall are likely to continue their hegemony of the sidecar class, which has seen them win the last nine races involving the 'three-wheelers' and taken 12 victories in total.

The revised race programme for the 2023 TT sees the number of races increase from eight to 10, taking in both solo and sidecar events.

The additional races involve second outings for the Superstock and Supertwins categories and racing is scheduled to happen over six days instead of the regular four.

Qualifying starts a day later than last year, on Monday 29 May, with the first races staged on Saturday, but the six-lap Superbike race moves to Sunday.

The finale of the week, the 'blue riband' Senior TT switches from its traditional Friday date to the closing Saturday of the meeting.

The extra races offer additional opportunities for 21-time winner Michael Dunlop to further close in on the record 26 wins achieved by his uncle Joey, while Ian Hutchinson's benchmark of five wins in a single week, set at the 2010 meeting, could also come under threat from the top riders.

If anyone is to emerge from the pack to break the dominance of Hickman, Dunlop and Harrison, it could be Milenco by Padgett's Honda pair Davey Todd and Conor Cummins.

British Superstock 1000cc champion Todd was the Best Newcomer and leading privateer on his debut in 2018 and was an impressive sixth in the 'blue riband' Senior race on his second appearance 12 months later.

The Yorkshire rider carried that form into 2022 and achieved his first podium by finishing third in the Superstock class.

This year he is participating in the British Superbike series and secured a Supersport double at the North West 200 in Northern Ireland.

Cummins has been 'knocking on the door' of a maiden TT win for many years, racking up 12 podium finishes to date, including a second place in last year's Superstock race and a third in the Senior.

His runner-up position in the 'Stocker event was accompanied by his fastest ever lap of the Mountain Course at 133.116mph, an average speed which was also the best ever achieved by any rider on a Honda machine.

In the Supertwins, Jamie Coward, Paul Jordan and Pierre-Yves Bian could all have claims on a maiden TT triumph.

Double British Superbike champion Josh Brookes returns for the first time since 2018 and with competitive machinery in the form of FHO Racing BMWs and a Supertwin Kawasaki beneath him he should be a strong contender for a first podium finish.

Honda is very much the preferred manufacturer in the 1000cc classes this year, with 11 of the original top 20 seeded runners having opted to pin their hopes on the Japanese marque.

John McGuinness represents the official Honda Racing team, with Todd and Cummins flying the flag for the Padgett's outfit and Michael Dunlop among those to switch to Honda for this season.

Michael Rutter will be on board the exotic MotoGP-based Honda RC213V-S, which he previously campaigned at the international road races before switching to BMW power for 2022.

Regular frontrunners Peter Hickman and Dean Harrison continue their long-established relationships with BMW and Kawasaki respectively, while James Hillier is the main standard-bearer for Yamaha.

Yamaha is the 'weapon of choice' for many of the leading competitors in the Supersports, including Dunlop and Harrison, although Hickman's Triumph and the Hondas of Todd and Cummins should also have a strong say.

The Supertwins races feature a mix of Paton, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Aprilia rides.

After missing last year's TT through injury, Australian David Johnson will lead the field away bearing the number one plate in the Superbike, Superstock and Supersport races.

As the races are time trials, the remainder of the riders leave the grid at 10-second intervals and next up at number two will be Dean Harrison.

Twenty-three time TT winner John McGuinness will be off at number three in all the 1000c races, with Michael Dunlop at number six, his preferred starting spot of recent years.

Double British Superbike champion Josh Brookes starts at seven, followed by Davey Todd, while Peter Hickman will bear number 10 as he leaves the TT Grandstand as he chases down the riders in front of him.

Leading Manxman Conor Cummins will have number 11 on his machine for the 'big bike' races.

Among the leading riders ruled out of this year's event through injury are popular NI rider Lee Johnston, Republic of Ireland rider Michael Sweeney and young Manx racer Nathan Harrison, all three having suffered injuries at the North West 200, plus Gary Johnson, injured in a recent race at Horice in the Czech Republic.

Ian Hutchinson has recovered from the effects of a stroke earlier in the year, but rules state that his licence must be revoked for one year.

The Superbike and Senior races are scheduled to be staged over their traditional six laps, the Supersports over four laps, and the Superstocks, Supertwins and sidecar events over a three-lap distance.

Given the obvious hazards associated with racing on closed public roads, the aim of any potential TT victor is to win at the slowest possible speed, so lap records will not be foremost in the riders' minds.

That said, new record average lap speeds may be broken given suitably conducive track conditions with plenty of grippy rubber being laid on the tarmac in the event of prolonged good weather, close racing and taking into account technical developments in the machinery being ridden.

The present course lap record is held by Peter Hickman - his time of 16 minutes 42.778 seconds - 135.452mph - was set during the 2018 Senior TT.

The favourable weather enjoyed in 2018 - allied with the cancellation of the races in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic - means most of the other class lap records also date back to five years ago.

Dean Harrison (Superbike race, 134.432), Peter Hickman (Superstock, 134.403), Michael Dunlop (Lightweight Supertwins, 122.750) and Ben and Tom Birchall (Sidecars, 119.250) were all set in 2018.

Only the Supersport record was bettered 12 months ago - Michael Dunlop setting a new benchmark of 129.475. With slick tyres now permitted for the Superstocks, Supertwins and Supersport races in 2023, could a remarkable first 130mph lap on a Supersport be on the cards?