Road closures for qualifying pushed back

Daytime qualifying sessions for the Manx Grand Prix and Classic TT have been pushed by three hours to allow roads to dry following heavy overnight rain.

Roads around the 37.7 mile (61km) Mountain Course will now close at 12:30 BST as a result.

The sessions, for both Manx Grand Prix (MGP) and Classic TT classes are set to run throughout the afternoon, with road due to open no later than 17:00.

Qualifying for the events, which run parallel with each other in August each year, has been disrupted several times since the meeting started on Sunday.

The disruption saw contingency daytime sessions on both Wednesday and Thursday being used by clerk of the course Gary Thompson, with a further extra session on Friday evening still available if needed.

The contingencies were used after the opening qualifying session was cut short due to a red flag incident at Greeba Bridge - during which Italian rider Salvatore Sallustro was taken to hospital for treatment - followed with a deterioration of the weather.

Monday and Wednesday evening's planned evening laps were called off altogether after rain showers made the roads unsafe to ride on, while Thursday's was initially delayed before being cancelled.

A fatal crash involving Swiss racer Mauro Poncini at Cruickshanks, in Ramsey, saw Tuesday evening's session red flagged on lap one before being abandoned.

Poncini is one of two riders to have died during qualifying for the MGP in 2026 - the Isle of Man's Sam Naughton was killed in a crash at Doran's Bend on the western section of the course on Wednesday afternoon.

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