Isle of Man TT Race Day 1
Photographing the IoM TT
2 June 2025
For IoM TT Race Day 1, the PistonClick team chose the Bungalow as our location for the day. Not quite at the top of the mountain but close. The Bungalow is one of my favourite locations at the TT and a great spot for the spectator as well as a photographer.
Electric trams run up from the capital Douglas, so the fans on foot can access the course easily. The Victory café will serve drinks and snacks for the spectators until the racing finishes. As a location, it doesn’t get much better for the road race fan.
Improving weather, a good location combined with the great facilities, it was no surprise there was a good crowd. The atmosphere started to build amongst the fans as we waited for the first day of racing at the IoM TT2025.
Superbikes, Sidecars, and Supersport were all scheduled to race, or take part in the time trial if you prefer. The riders start individually, heading down Glencrutchery Road for a TT lap of 37 3/4 miles. So is it a race? Fans like to say they enjoy the racing, but in reality, the riders are racing against the clock.
Race or time trial, I don’t really care. I was just looking forward to watching the Superbikes attack the course over four laps. A delay due to oil on the mountain section caused the first delay of 30 minutes. Further delays due to another oil spill from Bray Hill to Quarterbridge set the start back to midday.
The track is a public road when there is no racing, so these things happen. When you consider there is no speed limit on the mountain road, locals and visitors to the island do test their machines to the limit and beyond. Accidents can and do happen.
RST x D3O Superbike TT Race.
Four laps of over 150 miles at race pace would test the limits of the Superbike riders and the machines. There was an interesting mix of tyre choices by the teams. Most hadn’t tested the tyres over race distance due to the weather interruptions. A mix of soft and medium tyres was being used, so there was an element of gambling involved. However, there is a mandatory fuel stop required in this race, so tyres could be changed if required.
IoM TT Race Day Results
Davey Todd picked the correct rubber leading from start to finish in the opening Superbike race. Holding off IoM TT record holder Michael Dunlop, who made a determined effort to catch the 8TEN racer. Crossing the finish line 1.2 seconds ahead of Dunlop, it was a great start to the TT race week for Todd, who now has three TT race wins.
Superbike Race 1 Results
| Order | Rider |
| 1 | Davey Todd |
| 2 | Michael Dunlop |
| 3 | Dean Harrison |
| 4 | Nathan Harrison |
| 5 | David Johnson |
| 6 | James Hillier |
| 7 | John McGuinness |
| 8 | Joshua Brookes |
| 9 | Michael Evans |
| 10 | Paul Jordan |
Supersport Race 1
Michael Dunlop rewrote the TT history books by taking his 30th IoM TT win in the first Supersport race. Riding a Ducati in his 88th TT start, it was the first TT win for the Italian manufacturer since 1995. Dean Harrison led for long periods, putting up a spirited fight to hold off Dunlop to no avail, Harrison second. James Hillier was third and made a welcome and popular return to the podium; he was last on the steps in 2019.
Gary Johnston
Two-time TT winner Gary Johnston made a welcome return to racing on the island. Competing in the Supersport class on the Team Schleizer Dreieck Suzuki after the race Gary said.
“Really happy to finish my first race at the Isle of Man after a 3 year sabbatical. A lot of small issues holding us back. I hope we can fix it all for race 2 to reach mine and the bikes full potential. Feeling a bit deflated with the issues holding the bike back but fingers crossed for a practice lap tomorrow to fix these issues!”
| Order | Rider |
| 1 | Michael Dunlop |
| 2 | Dean Harrison |
| 3 | James Hillier |
| 4 | Davey Todd |
| 5 | Joshua Brookes |
| 6 | Rob Hodson |
| 7 | James Hind |
| 8 | Ian Hutchinson |
| 9 | Dom Herbertson |
| 10 | Conor Cummins |
Sidecar Race 1
Ryan and Callum Crowe sailed to victory in Sidecar Race 1. Setting a new sidecar lap record of 121.021 mph in the process. With a lead at the end of the race over a minute, they are going to be a hard team to beat.
| Order | Rider |
| 1 | Crowe/Crowe |
| 2 | Birchall/Rosney |
| 3 | Crawford/Hardie |
That concludes our review of the IoM TT Race Day One 2025. Tomorrow Tuesdays’ race programme has Superstock and Supertwin races. Due to the disruption caused by the weather, a sidecar shake-down and solo practice are also planned. The PistonClick team will be out capturing more IoM TT motorsport pictures; check back to see how we got on.
Our reports from the IoM TT 2025 can be found below. More about the PistonClick team at the TT can be found here. Thanks to RPW Photography for the images included in this report.
