RACE GUIDE

CLASSIC SUPERBIKE

With a lap record in excess of 127mph, the RST Classic Superbike Race is seen as the ‘big one’ and brings the curtain down on the 2022 Manx Grand Prix.

Recent years have seen Dean Harrison, Bruce Anstey and Michael Dunlop dispute the win, but last time out in 2019 it was Aussie ace David Johnson who came out on top on the Alasdair Cowan Racing Kawasaki ZXR750.

For 2022 the regulations have been updated with the cutoff date moving from pre-1993 machinery to pre-1997, opening up the field for the Suzuki GSX-R 750 SRAD, Yamaha YZF750, Kawasaki ZX7RR, Honda RC45, and the iconic Ducati 916 to join the existing field of Suzuki XR69s and RG500s, Yamaha OW01s and YZR500s, Kawasaki ZXR750s, Honda RC30s, Ducati 888s, and even the odd Norton Rotary.

While the bikes may look like they've been lifted straight from the 1980s and 90s, the top teams have put some serious development into their metal. And with the advances in tyre and brake technology - plus the outstanding skill of the competitors - the frontrunners are now lapping at speeds well above what was being achieved in the period with lap times that would trouble even the latest Supersport machines.