Lightweight TT

Isle of Man   2012 Isle of Man TT Races
After a weather delay of 24 hours, Ryan Farquhar (2), the winner of the Lightweight TT on his KMR Kawasaki ER-6 650 cc ready at the TT Grandstand startline, 9 June 2012
Race details

Date Lightweight TT – 9 June 2012
Location Douglas, Isle of Man
Course Road Course
37.733 mi (60.725 km)
Lightweight TT
Pole Position Fastest Lap
Northern Ireland Ryan Farquhar England Michael Rutter
115.398 mph 115.554 mph
Podium
1. Northern Ireland Ryan Farquhar
2. England James Hillier 3. England Michael Rutter

The Lightweight TT is a motorcycle road race that is a part of the Isle of Man TT festival - an annual motorcycle event traditionally held over the last week of May and first week of June.

History

1922 was the first time the Lighweight TT race took place, won by Geoff S. Davison riding a Levis, at an average speed of 49.89 mph (80.29 km/h) for 7 laps of the Snaefell Mountain Course. Between 1949 and 1976, the Lightweight race was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.

The event was dropped from the 2005 race calendar due to lack of entries. The Lightweight TT and the Ultra-Lightweight TT were later reinstated to the 2008 & 2009 race schedules, but were held on the 4.25 mile Billown Circuit in the south of the Isle of Man.[1] For the 2010 races, the Lightweight TT was again dropped from the race schedule on cost grounds.

The event was re-introduced for the 2012 races on the Mountain course, with a change to water-cooled four-stroke twin cylinder engines not exceeding 650 cc and complying with the ACU Standing Regulations.[2]

The Lightweight category

There have been several different categories of motorcycle that can compete in this event. In the 1950s and 1960s, the principal TT solo events were the Senior (500 cc), Junior (350 cc), and Lightweight (250 cc, or sometimes 125 cc). The 125 cc class was occasionally called "Ultra-Lightweight".

Currently the Lightweight class comprises road-based "Super-Twin" solo machines with liquid-cooled four-stroke engines of up to 650 cc engine capacity.

Eligibility

Entrants

Machines

The 2012 specification for entries into the Lightweight TT race are defined as;-

Official Qualification Time

Speed and lap records

The lap record for the Lightweight TT is held by James Hillier in a time of 18 minutes and 43.955 seconds, at an average speed of 120.848 mph (194.486 km/h) set during the 2015 race. The race record for the 4 lap Lightweight TT is a time of 1 hour, 16 minutes and 26.681 seconds, at an average race speed of 118.454 mph (190.633 km/h) for 4 laps (150.73 miles/242.58 km) held by Ivan Lintin during the 2016 race.[5]

Lightweight TT Race winners

Rider Wins
Joey Dunlop 6
Charlie Williams 5
Mike Hailwood, Jim Redman 3
Fergus Anderson, Manliff Barrington, Kel Carruthers, Ivan Lintin, Ian Lougher, Phil Read, Tarquinio Provini, Eric Twemlow 2
Dario Ambrosini, Bruce Anstey, Maurice Cann, Syd Crabtree, Ryan Farquhar, Gary Hocking, Jimmie Guthrie, Wal Handley, Werner Haas, Dean Harrison, Tom Herron, James Hillier, Bill Ivy, Ewald Kluge, John McGuinness, Ted Mellors, Derek Minter, Jack A. Porter, Richard Quayle, Jimmie Simpson, Omobono Tenni, Carlo Ubbiali, Graham Walker, Stanley Woods 1

See also

References

  1. Manx Independent pp44 dated 22 November 2007
  2. International Isle of Man TT Regulations 2012 page 41-42 Appendix-E ACU Events (Isle of Man) Ltd (2012) Isle of Man Department of Economic Development
  3. International Tourist Trophy Regulations 2012 page 3/Appendix E page 43 ACU Events (Isle of Man) Limited (2012) Isle of Man Department of Economic Development
  4. International Tourist Trophy Regulations 2012 page 19 ACU Events (Isle of Man) Limited (2012) Isle of Man Department of Economic Development
  5. "Bennetts Lightweight TT - Result Sheet" (PDF). Isle of Man TT. Duke Marketing Ltd. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
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