What can we expect from the 2026 road racing season?

Fans of motorcycle road racing can look back on the 2025 season, which featured plenty of excitement, thrilling accomplishments, controversy, and disappointments, but the year is already shaping up for what 2026 might bring.

At the North West 200 this year, Michael Dunlop and Davey Todd were the standout performers, each bagging a hat-trick of victories, and Dunlop continued his world-record-breaking run at the Isle of Man TT in June, taking his fifth four-time winner of his career over the Mountain Course to increase his total victories to 33.

Todd added to his growing resume with victories in the Macau Grand Prix, Southern 100 Solo Championship victories, and Superbike TT race victories in the fall of 2017.

Top riders and teams have already made plans for the upcoming campaign, while race organisers have made schedule changes, calendar additions, and racing classes in advance of the competitions of the following year.

The North West will host the second round of six of the new European Series Road Racing Superbike Championship (ESR), which is expected to improve the meeting’s international appeal.

John McGuinness and Dean Harrison of Honda Racing, who are still searching for their first victory after five second-place finishes this year, will fly the flag for the Japanese manufacturer for the third year in a row.

Todd and Peter Hickman have also indicated that their 8TEN Racing team will once again compete for the BMW marquee.

After a nine-year winning drought at the meeting with his famous treble in May, Dunlop is anticipated to win more races.

Although the team and rider match-ups are still a major piece of the puzzle, Glenn Irwin, the record-breaking 11-time Superbike race winner, teased a potential return to the sport in an interview with BBC Sport NI in August.

Irwin, who will compete in British Superbikes on a Ducati for his Nitrous Competitions Racing team in 2026, said he would not consider running a Ducati again.

We had a meeting with Event Director Mervyn Whyte over the summer, and we discussed a lot of issues with the North West, including safety improvements.

You never know if these guys can make the event even safer by removing my excuse for not racing because there was a risk associated with having a family. I couldn’t rule it out for the following year if they could continue to make steps.

Dunlop continues to dominate the Isle of Man TT, winning both the Supersport and Supertwins events this year to extend his winning streak in those disciplines, which was the previous record of eight races in a row.

The Northern Ireland rider is looking forward to the addition of more victories in Superbike races, but there is always rife rumors about what kind of machinery he will choose for the larger capacity classes.

After recovering from serious injuries sustained in a crash during qualifying for this year’s event, much will be focused on whether 14-time champion Hickman can regain the form he has previously displayed.

Harrison will aim to increase his winning streak to five, resembling the form he did in 2025 when he won the Superstock double.

Another contestant will attempt to increase his three victories total, which he has already accumulated over the past two years.

While those four are likely to be around to watch, the entry’s emergence adds depth and quality to the cast, along with returning riders Paul Jordan, Jim Hind, and Josh Brookes, who are all recovering from another injury setback.

The Manx event’s 2026 edition will have more rest days, more emergency time slots, and Superstock and Supersport classes switching places in the standings for the race running order due to changes to the schedule.

Sportbike-specific machines will be able to compete for the first time thanks to a Supertwin class update.

This action is in line with the wider expansion of the sportbike category internationally and the introduction of the World and British Superbike Championships.

Triumph and Suzuki bikes, as well as the Chinese CF Moto 675SR-R, will now be available to Paton, Aprilia, Kawasaki, and Yamaha customers.

The road racing scene in Northern Ireland appears to be back on much stronger ground after a period of uncertainty brought on by insurance problems in 2023.

The Cookstown 100 serves its long-established function as the “traditional curtain-raiser” to racing “between the hedges” in late April, and the Armoy road race continues to prosper in its late July slot in addition to the North West 200.

In 2025, Dunlop made a top-notch appearance just a few weeks after his most recent TT tour de force and claiming a big bike double. Additionally, the Ballymoney rider had won two Cookstown races.

Mike Browne, a rider for the Republic of Ireland, won four times at Armoy.

Following an unsuccessful attempt to resurrect the road race in 2022 when the event had to be postponed due to oil, glass, and nails accumulating on parts of the Clough circuit, the Mid Antrim 150 is now set to be reinsated into the road race running order on July 31 through August 1.

After a four-year absence due primarily to exorbitant insurance costs, there is also the likely possibility of road race competitions taking place in the Republic of Ireland again in 2026.

Following a funding boost from the Northern Ireland Executive, plans were being put in place to restore the renowned Ulster Grand Prix international road race, with 2027 the potential year for that to take shape, which provided more positive news for road race supporters in November.