Ultra-Lightweight TT

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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]

Contents

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.

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]

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

50cc Ultra-Lightweight TT Winners

YearRiderMotorcycleAverage Speed
1962 Flag of Germany.svg Ernst Degner Suzuki 75.12 mph
1963 Flag of Japan.svg Mitsuo Itoh Suzuki78.81 mph
1964 Flag of New Zealand.svg Hugh Anderson Suzuki80.64 mph
1965 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Luigi Taveri Honda 79.66 mph
1966 Ulster Banner.svg Ralph Bryans Honda85.66 mph
1967 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Stuart Graham Suzuki82.89 mph
1968 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Barry Smith Derbi 72.90 mph

Ultra-Lightweight TT Race Winners

RiderWins
Joey Dunlop, Ian Lougher Carlo Ubbiali 4
Robert Dunlop, Chris Palmer3
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

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

See also

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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.