Organisers of the Isle of Man TT Races are still trying to keep the event inside budget even as some costs continue to climb, with Gary Thompson saying they remain very mindful of the pressure on staging the racing fortnight. He said some expenses are spiraling in certain areas, but the budget set aside to run the event remains in place and has never had to be cut.

The remarks come after a difficult year in which weather disruption forced multiple changes to the TT schedule and led to the cancellation of the Senior race. Thompson said the 2026 programme has now been reshaped, with numerous changes to the qualifying and race timetable aimed at building in more flexibility after that disruption.

The 2026 schedule will include an extra rest day during qualifying week on Thursday, 28 May, while 27 May will become a double-header of afternoon and evening timed practice. The opening Superstock race on Saturday, 30 May, will be the first race of the event, and the first Supersport contest has been moved to Tuesday, 2 June.

Thompson’s comments also touched on the pressure around keeping the course secure. He warned that anyone caught accessing closed roads during sessions or flying drones near the course will face harsh penalties, a reminder that the TT’s biggest risks do not always come from the weather or the track.

The changes come against a backdrop of debate about the shape of the meeting itself. The current TT programme has 10 races, and some have criticised it as too crowded, yet organisers are sticking with a format they believe can withstand the disruption that affected last year’s event.

That balance — between control of costs, a compressed race list and the need for more spare room in the timetable — is now at the centre of the build-up to 2026. For the Isle of Man TT, the question is no longer just whether the racing can be staged, but whether it can be staged with enough resilience to survive the conditions that derailed it before.