Supersport TT 2026: Dunlop Chases Ninth Consecutive Victory, but the Competition Is Arming Up

• Michael Dunlop enters as number 6 with 15 Supersport victories and eight consecutive wins
• The Yamaha YZF-R9 makes its debut on the Mountain Course
• The Supersport races will take place on Tuesday and Friday of race week in 2026

The Supersport class has always been one of the most exciting disciplines at the Isle of Man TT. On the middleweight machines, the performance differences are narrower than in the larger displacement classes, which puts greater emphasis on riding skill. For 2026, the starting grid has seen significant changes. Unlike previous years, when the Supersport races traditionally opened the race programme, the two four-lap races are scheduled for Tuesday and Friday of race week this year. This swap with the Superstock class is intended to better distribute the physical demands on the riders throughout the entire event.

Mike Browne starts with number 1 and a new Yamaha

With John McGuinness not competing in the Supersport class this year, the honour of starting number 1 falls to Mike Browne. The Irishman will race the Yamaha YZF-R9 of the Boyce Precision/Russell Racing team. This marks the machine’s debut on the Mountain Course. The YZF-R9 has already proven itself at international level, and Browne should have the podium firmly in his sights. Ten seconds behind him, Paul Jordan starts with number 2 on a Ducati from the Jackson Racing powered by Prosper2 team. Jordan switches to Italian machinery this year and brings considerable experience: in five of the last six Supersport races, he finished in the top eight, including a strong fourth place in race two of 2025, where only Dunlop, Dean Harrison, and Davey Todd beat him.

Harrison, Coward, and Johnson complete the first starting row

Dean Harrison starts with number 3 on the Honda Racing machine, as in his other classes. The rider, who now lives on the Isle of Man, has one Supersport victory on the Mountain Course to his name, though it dates back to 2018. Since then, however, he has stood on the podium in each of the last eight Supersport races without reclaiming the top step. His participation in this year’s British Supersport Championship is intended to provide additional confidence.

Jamie Coward follows with number 4 on the Rapid Honda. Coward is one of the most consistent riders in the class: in five of his last six Supersport races, he finished in the top six, including a fourth place in 2024 when he also set the fifth-fastest lap in Supersport class history. His switch from Triumph to the Honda CBR600RR will be watched with great interest. David Johnson completes the group ahead of the big favourite on the CD Racing Kawasaki with number 5.

Dunlop as number 6: 15 Supersport victories and no end in sight

Then comes the man everyone wants to beat. Michael Dunlop starts with number 6 under the Scars/MD Racing banner once again on the Ducati Panigale V2, with which he dominated the class last year. 15 of his 33 TT career victories have come in the Supersport class, achieved on a variety of manufacturers: he has won on Yamaha, Honda, and most recently Ducati. In 2025, he lapped the course at more than 130 miles per hour in race one and won both races convincingly. Since 2022, Dunlop has won all eight Supersport races at the TT, a streak without precedent in the history of the competition.

Brookes brings the next-generation Suzuki to the start

Directly behind Dunlop, Josh Brookes lines up with number 7. The Australian does not compete in the Supersport class for DAO Racing, however, but instead pilots the next-generation Suzuki GSX-R750 under the Uggly & Co. Racing banner. As a former race winner in the Supersport World Championship, Brookes brings the necessary experience to exploit the potential of this machine. The new GSX-R750 is considered promising, and Brookes will do everything to bring it onto the podium.

Triumph trio in positions 8 to 10

Starting numbers 8 to 10 go to three Triumph riders. Davey Todd was due to start with number 8 for Swan Racing by PHR Performance, racing a Triumph in the Supersport class at the TT for the first time. However, the three-time TT winner suffered serious injuries at the Daytona 200 in March 2026: fractures to his left femur, right tibia, and foot. Whether Todd will be fit in time for the TT is currently uncertain.

Between the two PHR teammates Todd and Peter Hickman (number 10, Trooper Triumph by PHR Performance), Michael Evans starts with number 9 for Dafabet Racing. Evans has established himself as a reliable top-ten rider in the class and should be able to benefit from the experience of his prominent Triumph colleagues in both qualifying and the race. Hickman’s last Supersport victory dates from 2019, while Todd is still waiting for his first win in this class.

Cummins and Hutchinson rely on new machinery

Manxman Conor Cummins starts with number 11 on a GSX-R750 Suzuki from the North Lincs Components team. It is the same machine on which James Hind scored a fifth and seventh place last year. Hind himself is absent from the 2026 TT, which should give Cummins additional confidence.

Ten seconds behind Cummins, Ian Hutchinson starts with number 12 on the Ducati of the Burrows Engineering/RK Racing team. Hutchinson holds the second-highest tally of Supersport victories in the class’s history with eight wins, but enters new territory with the Ducati at the TT. The rider from Bingley is thus one of the most experienced starters in the field.

Herbertson, Anderson, and Hodson as potential surprises

Dominic Herbertson starts with number 13 on the KTS Macadam Triumph Factory Racing machine. A podium finish in a Supersport race has eluded him so far, but with his current equipment, he should have better prospects than ever before. In positions 14 and 15, Shaun Anderson (Stanford Racing by ARD Suzuki) and Rob Hodson (SMT Racing Ducati) follow as two more riders on next-generation machines. Hodson deserves special attention: in race one of 2025, he finished sixth on a Yamaha.

Positions 16 to 20: Experience meets up-and-comers

Nathan Harrison completes the upper half of the seeding list with number 16 on an H&H Motorcycles Honda. The remaining four positions go to riders who are not seeded in the top 20 in the 1000cc classes but have earned their places through strong recent Supersport results: Michael Sweeney (EM Building Yamaha, number 17), Joe Yeardsley (SpinArena.net Suzuki, number 18), and Joey Thompson (TH Racing Honda, number 19). Adam McLean was originally set as number 20 on the CD Racing Kawasaki but had to withdraw due to a recent operation.

Five manufacturers and an open battle for the lead

The 2026 Supersport TT entry list is characterised by a remarkable diversity of manufacturers. Ducati fields four riders among the top 15 with Dunlop, Jordan, Hutchinson, and Hodson. Honda is represented by Harrison, Coward, Nathan Harrison, and Thompson. Triumph sends a strong quartet into the race with Todd, Evans, Hickman, and Herbertson. Added to these are the new Suzuki GSX-R750s of Brookes, Cummins, and Anderson, as well as the Yamaha riders Browne and Sweeney, with Browne’s YZF-R9 being a genuine novelty on the Mountain Course.

The transition to the internationally adopted next-generation rules in the Supersport class continues to progress, bringing fresh technology to the course. Whether that will be enough to break Dunlop’s winning streak remains the big question of this year’s Supersport TT. The answer will come on Tuesday and Friday of race week, when the lights at the start house on Glencrutchery Road turn green.

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