Tomorrow (Sunday 29 May) the 2022 cohort of newcomers to the Isle of Man TT Races will experience the closed roads of the 37.73-mile Mountain Course for the first time, as they head out on their Speed Control Lap.
A reduction in the number of race starters for this year means newcomer places are at a premium like never before but there are still seven solo competitors joining the TT fray for the first time all with their own personal aspirations.
Leading the way is Glenn Irwin, possibly the highest profile debutante since Peter Hickman appeared at the TT for the first time in 2014. The Northern Irishman’s road racing pedigree is considerable with six consecutive Superbike race wins at the North West 200 between 2017 and 2022. He’s also won at the Macau Grand Prix and taken podiums at the Ulster GP.
On top of that, he’s also a British Superbike Championship race winner and frequent podium finisher, starting this year’s opening BSB round with a cleansweep of victories.
Irwin’s fellow newcomers may not be under the spotlight as much and they all come from different racing backgrounds with Dutchman Ilja Caljouw and England’s Milo Ward joining him in the Superbike, Superstock and Senior races.
Cajouw has excelled in the Supersport class on the European road circuits like Horice, Hengelo, Imatra, Chimay and Frohburg. He finished on the podium in all eight races in 2021, finishing second overall to former Newcomers Manx Grand Prix winner Pierre Yves Bian.
Ward, meanwhile, has enjoyed strong results in the Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship, finishing fifth overall in 2018. He immediately moved into the Superstock 1000 class where he’s gone on to score points.
Elsewhere, youngsters Joseph Loughlin and Jamie Cringle will focus on the Supersport and Lightweight races. Irishman Loughlin already has considerable road racing pedigree on his CV taking a superb Supertwin race win at the recent North West 200 as well as two top ten finishes in the Supersport races. He’s also finished on the podium at the Ulster Grand Prix.
He’ll be riding for 10-time TT winner Ian Lougher this June whilst Cringle is the dominant performer and man to beat in both the 600cc and 1000cc Isle of Man Championships.
Australian Rennie Scaysbrook and England’s Craig Szczypek complete the solo newcomers with the duo competing in the Supersport and Supertwin races respectively.
The Sidecar class also sees a good mix of newcomers with reigning British F2 Champion Lee Crawford leading the way. Partnered by experienced TT passenger Scott Hardie, the duo have dominated in recent years at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough and only narrowly missed out on a 100mph lap in just their second year at the Southern 100 in 2019.
Harry Payne, a TT newcomer as a passenger in 2018, now returns in the driver’s seat and does so on the back of taking a stunning victory in the World Championship last year.
Former Senior Manx Grand Prix winner Michael Russell makes his TT debut on three wheels this year with the Kings Lynn man set for a busy fortnight as he’s also contesting all of the solo races whilst British Championship front runner Craig Currie is also on the sidecar entry for the first time.
The newcomers, along with the rest of the field, will take to the Mountain Course on Sunday (29 May) for the opening day of Qualifying, with the first race of 2022 – the RST Superbike TT – taking place on Saturday 4 June.
For those unable to make it to the Isle of Man for this year’s racing, fans can watch the newcomer Speed Control Lap live on TT+ by purchasing the TT+ Live Pass.