Southern 100 cancels upcoming Sidecar races at Isle of Man
After reviewing its scheduled participation at the Isle of Man in July, organisers of the Southern 100 have decided to cancel next month's Sidecar races.
Organisers of the Southern 100 have decided to cancel next month’s Sidecar races at the Isle of Man, following a comprehensive review.
In a statement issued by the Southern 100 Club on 31 May, organisers confirmed they were assessing whether sidecars can safely compete at the Billown-based event after a difficult TT fortnight that saw the class pulled from the remainder of the meeting following a series of major incidents, one of which left popular female racer Maria Costello MBE with life-changing injuries.
However, the Southern 100 Club has now released a second statement, with organisers hoping to “safeguard the long-term future of the category” by cancelling the 2026 event. The statement also goes on to say that it will continue to work alongside organisers of the TT as part of a wider consultation process
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The full statement said:
“Following a comprehensive consultation process regarding the inclusion of the Sidecar class at the 2026 Southern 100 Races, the Southern 100 Club has taken the difficult decision to exclude the Sidecar class from this year’s event.
“Following the recent decision by the Isle of Man TT Races to suspend the class for 2026, the Clerk of the Course and Senior Technical Officials have spent the last week evaluating whether safe, robust, and enforceable regulatory modifications could be introduced via an event bulletin for the Billown Course.
“Input from the ACU Compliance structure and leading competitors highlighted that the complex aerodynamic and technical questions currently facing the prototype class cannot be responsibly resolved within the short five-week timeframe available before our event.
“As a Club, our absolute priority must always be the safety of our competitors, marshals, officials, and spectators. In light of the current uncertainties surrounding the stability of modern sidecar designs under certain racing conditions, the Club believes that running the class without a definitive, expert-led technical review would introduce an unacceptable level of risk.
“The Southern 100 Club is deeply saddened to have to make this decision. Sidecars have been an integral, spectacular part of the “Friendly Races” for decades, and we share the profound disappointment that will be felt by the teams, drivers, passengers, and fans.
“However, this is a temporary pause to safeguard the long-term future of the category. The Southern 100 Club remains fully committed to sidecar racing and will actively participate in the upcoming wider consultation process alongside the TT organiser, promoter and industry experts to ensure the class can return to the Billown Course safely in 2027.”
Aside from the major incidents that led to the Sidecar TT class being cancelled, TT organisers have also been left frustrated by poor weather conditions, resulting in just two races being completed since last Saturday. Race 1 of the Superstock class has also been cancelled altogether following an announcement by the TT on Thursday, 4 June.
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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
