Put your hand up if you?ve been to the Isle of Man TT. Now put it down, you look like a tit. If you?ve been, you?ll probably have a decent idea of what it?s all about and a rough idea of the rules governing the different classes that race over there. If you haven?t been, well you might not be particularly au fait with the intricacies of the Isle of Man TT rule book. So, because of that, we thought it would be a good time to clear a few bits up. Knowledge is power, and all that.

Race Against the Clock

A mass-start on the 37.7 mile Isle of Man TT Course would be nothing short of ludicrous so, come the races, all the bikes are set off in ten second intervals. Until recently, the top 20 went off in number order, and the rest of the pack went in the order they qualified; now though, all riders go off in number order, regardless of qualifying time. ?What?s the point in qualifying then"? I hear you ask. Well the fact is that there will be a lot more entrants to each of the TT classes than there are spaces on the grid. So to earn your place on the grid, you?ve got to go fast enough in qualifying.
After watching the TT on telly, you could be forgiven for thinking there are only 10 starters in each race; but that?s not the case; from 2022 a 1000cc TT race will have 50 bikes and riders lining up on Glencrutchery Road (up to 60 in the other classes) ? although it is only really the top ten that get any TV airtime.

The Superstock and Supersport races are four la...