Ultra-Lightweight TT

The Ultra-Lightweight TT was a motorcycle road race that took place during the Isle of Man TT festival, an annual event at the end of May and beginning of June. Between 1951 and 1974 this race was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season at world-level, representing the British round. The Ultra-Lightweight TT and the Lightweight TT races were both dropped from the 2005 Isle of Man TT race calendar due to lack of entries, but were later reinstated to the 2008 and 2009 TT race schedules held on the 4.25 mi (6.84 km) Billown Circuit.[1]

Engine Capacity

The 1924 Isle of Man TT was the first race for Ultra-Lightweight motorcycles not exceeding 175 cc engine capacity, won by Jack Porter, on a New Imperial at an average speed of 51.21 mph (82.41 km/h) for three laps of the Snaefell mountain course. The Ultra-Lightweight TT race was re-introduced for the 1951 Isle of Man TT race for motorcycles not exceeding 125 cc engine capacity until dropped from the TT race meeting in 1974. The Ultra-Lightweight race was re-introduced for the 1989 TT races, again for motorcycles not exceeding 125 cc engine capacity and was part of the TT Festival until 2004.

  • 1924-1925 For motor-cycles not exceeding 175 cc engine capacity.
  • 1951-1953 World Championship event for motorcycles not exceeding 125 cc engine capacity, held on the Snaefell mountain course.
  • 1954-1959 World Championship event for motorcycles not exceeding 125 cc engine capacity, held on the Clypse Course.
  • 1960-1974 World Championship event for motor-cycles not exceeding 125 cc engine capacity, held on the Mountain Course.
  • 1989-2004 for motorcycles not exceeding 125 cc engine capacity, held on the Mountain Course.
  • 2008-2009 for motorcycles not exceeding 125 cc engine capacity, held on the Billown Circuit.
  • 1962-1968 Additional World Championship event for motorcycles not exceeding 50 cc engine capacity, held on the Mountain Course.

Speed and Lap Records

The lap record for the Ultra-Lightweight TT is 19 minutes and 18.2 seconds[2] at an average speed of 110.52 mph (177.86 km/h) set by Chris Palmer during the 2004 Ultra-Lightweight 125 cc TT Race.

List of Ultra-Lightweight TT Winners

[3][4]

Year Rider Manufacturer Average Race Speed
1924 Scotland Jock Porter New Gerrard 51.21 mph
1925 England Wal Handley Rex-Acme 53.45 mph
1926-1950 Not Held
1951 Northern Ireland Cromie McCandless Mondial 74.85 mph
1952 England Cecil Sandford MV Agusta 75.54 mph
1953 England Leslie Graham MV Agusta 77.79 mph
1954 Austria Rupert Hollaus NSU 69.52 mph
1955 Italy Carlo Ubbiali MV Agusta 69.67 mph
1956 Italy Carlo Ubbiali MV Agusta 69.13 mph
1957 Italy Tarquinio Provini Mondial 73.69 mph
1958 Italy Carlo Ubbiali MV Agusta 72.86 mph
1959 Italy Tarquinio Provini MV Agusta 74.06 mph
1960 Italy Carlo Ubbiali MV Agusta 85.61 mph
1961 England Mike Hailwood Honda 88.23 mph
1962 Switzerland Luigi Taveri Honda 89.88 mph
1963 New Zealand Hugh Anderson Suzuki 89.27 mph
1964 Switzerland Luigi Taveri Honda 92.14 mph
1965 England Phil Read Yamaha 94.28 mph
1966 England Bill Ivy Yamaha 97.66 mph
1967 England Phil Read Yamaha 97.48 mph
1968 England Phil Read Yamaha 99.12 mph
1969 England Dave Simmonds Kawasaki 91.08 mph
1970 Germany Dieter Braun Suzuki 89.27 mph
1971 England Chas Mortimer Yamaha 83.96 mph
1972 England Chas Mortimer Yamaha 87.49 mph
1973 Northern Ireland Tommy Robb Yamaha 88.91 mph
1974 United Kingdom Clive Horton Yamaha 88.44 mph
1975-1988 Not Held
1989 Northern Ireland Robert Dunlop Honda 102.58 mph
1990 Northern Ireland Robert Dunlop Honda 103.41 mph
1991 Northern Ireland Robert Dunlop Honda 103.68 mph
1992 Northern Ireland Joey Dunlop Honda 106.49 mph
1993 Northern Ireland Joey Dunlop Honda 107.26 mph
1994 Northern Ireland Joey Dunlop Honda 105.74 mph
1995 United Kingdom Mark Baldwin Honda 107.14 mph
1996 Northern Ireland Joey Dunlop Honda 106.33 mph
1997 Wales Ian Lougher Honda 107.89 mph
1998 Northern Ireland Robert Dunlop Honda 106.38 mph
1999 Wales Ian Lougher Honda 107.43 mph
2000 Northern Ireland Joey Dunlop Honda 107.14 mph
2001 Not held
2002 Wales Ian Lougher Honda 108.65 mph
2003 England Chris Palmer Honda 108.65 mph
2004 England Chris Palmer Honda 108.93 mph
2005-2007 Not Held
2008 England Chris Palmer Honda 94.042 mph
2009 Wales Ian Lougher Honda 2 heats

50cc Ultra-Lightweight TT Winners

Year Rider Motorcycle Average Speed
1962 West Germany Ernst Degner Suzuki 75.12 mph
1963 Japan Mitsuo Itoh Suzuki 78.81 mph
1964 New Zealand Hugh Anderson Suzuki 80.64 mph
1965 Switzerland Luigi Taveri Honda 79.66 mph
1966 Northern Ireland Ralph Bryans Honda 85.66 mph
1967 United Kingdom Stuart Graham Suzuki 82.89 mph
1968 Australia Barry Smith Derbi 72.90 mph

Ultra-Lightweight TT Race Winners

Rider Wins
Joey Dunlop, Ian Lougher Carlo Ubbiali 4
Robert Dunlop, Chris Palmer 3
Chas Mortimer, Phil Read, Tarquinio Provini*, Luigi Taveri 2
Hugh Anderson, M.Baldwin, Dieter Braun, Les Graham, Rupert Hollaus*, Wal Handley, C.Horton, Bill Ivy, Cromie McCandless, Mike Hailwood, Jack Porter, Tommy Robb, Cecil Sandford, Dave Simmonds 1

Ultra-Lightweight TT Race Winners by Marque

Marque Wins
Honda 20
Yamaha 8
MV Agusta 7
Mondial, Suzuki 2
Kawasaki, New Imperial, NSU, Rex-Acme 1

See also

References

  1. ^ Manx Independent pp44 dated 22 November 2007
  2. ^ 2006 Official TT Race Guide
  3. ^ "TT Fact Zone". Duke Marketing Ltd.
  4. ^ "TT & Manx Grand Prix - iMuseum". iMuseum.