Dean Harrison Is Making History at the 2026 Isle of Man TT
If last year was Dean Harrison's comeback, this year is his statement.
At the 2026 Isle of Man TT, our sponsored rider and Honda Racing UK factory man has been in a class of his own. From the moment practice began, through qualifying, and into race week itself, Dean has put in performances that will be talked about for years to come. We're incredibly proud to support him, and to bring a little bit of that TT magic to you through his exclusive merch range here at Spada.
Here's the full story of Dean's 2026 TT so far.
Qualifying: Setting the Tone Early
Dean arrived on the Island in the kind of form that makes competitors nervous. He topped every Superbike qualifying session throughout the week, and in the final Friday session he saved his best for last, lapping the 37.73-mile Mountain Course at a stunning 135.484mph on his Superstock machine, breaking the Superstock qualifying record in the process.
To put that in perspective: he went into race week almost half a minute quicker than the second-fastest Superstock rider. The stage was set.
RST Superbike TT | Sunday 31 May | 1st Place
The Superstock race that was supposed to open the week was cancelled on the Saturday due to fog rolling in over the Island, so it fell to the six-lap Superbike TT on Sunday to get the 2026 races underway, and Dean made sure nobody would forget it.
Setting off third on the road, he immediately began threading his way through the field. By the first checkpoint at Glen Helen he was already 4.8 seconds clear of the chasing pack, and that was just the start. Lap after lap he extended his advantage, building a lead of over 30 seconds at one point before sensibly managing the final lap home.
He crossed the finish line 15.580 seconds ahead of Peter Hickman, with Michael Dunlop a further 12 seconds back in third. The lap he posted from a standing start, 134.892mph, was the fastest opening lap in Isle of Man TT history.
But what made this victory especially remarkable wasn't just the margin of victory. It was the machine Dean was riding. Rather than a conventional factory Superbike, Dean personally conceived a hybrid built on a Superstock base, Superstock chassis, forks and swingarm, but combined with a more powerful engine, Superbike brakes, and crucially, a kit electronics package from HRC rather than the standard MoTeC system used by most rivals. The logic? The HRC system gives the rider more feel at the throttle on public roads, rather than the aggressive delivery of full Superbike electronics.In short, Dean didn't just win the race. He designed the tool to do it with.
This was Dean's sixth TT victory, and with it, he became one of a tiny handful of riders to have won in all four solo classes at the TT: Superbike, Supersport, Senior and Superstock. It was also his 36th TT podium finish.
Monster Energy Supersport Race 1 | Tuesday 2 June | 2nd Place
After Sunday's dominance, Tuesday brought the first Supersport race of the week, and a different challenge entirely. The Supersport class has been owned by Michael Dunlop in recent years, and his Ducati Panigale V2 has proven almost untouchable.
Dean led the early stages on the Honda CBR600RR, and the two were within a tenth of each other at the end of the first lap. But Dunlop's pit stop was 1.4 seconds quicker, and from there the Ducati began to pull away. By the finish, Dunlop was 24 seconds up the road, extending his remarkable consecutive Supersport win streak to nine.
Dean took a solid second place, and was typically honest about where the deficit lies:
"I can hold my own on the bottom part of the track, I feel, but then I lose a lot when we get to going up, the drag over the mountain. The little 600 has done really well. Fair play to everyone at Honda, the bike didn't miss a beat the whole race."
A second place in the Supersport, behind arguably the greatest Supersport rider in TT history, is nothing to be disappointed about, and Dean knows it.
Own a Piece of TT History
With three races still to go, Dean has every chance of a multiple-win TT. For anyone who's followed Dean's career, the 2026 TT feels like the culmination of years of hard work, setbacks and sheer determination. The Bradford-born, Isle of Man-resident racer first won on the Mountain Course back in 2014 in the Lightweight TT, and has been one of the most consistent performers at the event ever since.
His exclusive Dean Harrison merch range is available right here at Spada Clothing, from hoodies and t-shirts to beanies and neck tubes, all designed with Dean and built to the quality you'd expect from Spada.
