TT 2026 saw a number of contentious issues emerge, among these was an intervention from leading Manx tourism operator and motorsport entrepreneur Peter Duke (right), which attracted particular comment. Duke, who draws on the historic racing legacy of his late father, Geoff Duke, and long-standing business relationships associated with the TT, questioned the current format. He doesn’t believe the TT schedule is right for visitors or for the wider festival atmosphere. Most pointedly, Duke says TT organisers should reduce the number of race days and reintroduce Mad Sunday as a popular central feature of the event.
Set against a background of the Isle of Man TT losing its holiday appeal, Duke argues that the modern six-day racing schedule overcomplicates the event and is potentially hurting local businesses and fans, while stripping away the traditional holiday angle. Besides advocating a reduction in the number of race days, his Mad Sunday restoration proposal pivots on it becoming a focal point once again, giving visitors time to explore the Island beyond just the TT course.
And in this context, Duke noted that the upcoming Hollywood TT feature film starring Channing Tatum and rock star Bono’s daughter Eve Hewson, could drastically alter global interest and commercial dynamics for the Island.
The recent domination of increased race days has also led to a significant loss for visitors. The long-established and extremely popular Ramsey Sprint, which for many years attracted ‘run what you brung’ amateur drag racers to Mooragh Promenade, was a recent cancellation victim of major changes to the TT schedule and heavy monetary pressures on its organiser, Straightliners. They cited high insurance and permitting costs, combined with a lack of capital for expensive team ferry crossings to the Island, making the event financially unviable.
Revisions to the TT schedule, changing to a format of two-day blocks over six days, also made it nearly impossible to secure traders and catering units for the Ramsey Sprint, as many vendors chose to migrate to the TT Grandstand Fan Zone.
As for Peter Duke personally, his business acumen began with Duke Marketing and the founding of Duke Video in 1981. It became the world’s dominant publisher and distributor of motorsport home entertainment on VHS and DVD. As physical media markets dwindled, his company built the official Isle of Man TT website and managed a global database of millions of motorsport fans. Utilising his customer database, Duke subsequently transitioned the business fully into travel and hospitality in 2019. He then founded a “TT Village” on Victoria Road in Douglas, which deploys a massive pop-up village of more than 200 portable cabins to house hundreds of incoming TT race fans every year, within easy reach of the nearby TT Paddock.
His recent criticism of the TT racing organisation in the Isle of Man local newspapers was applauded by indigenous motorcycle enthusiasts. One of them summed up his stance very well: “Is there really a need for additional race days? It doesn’t leave much leeway for the ACU when the weather turns inclement, and we then have to call one or two-lap sprints a race. The old race schedule should be reintroduced before it’s too late, and this world-class event is permanently damaged.”
Head count tops 44K
According to the Isle of Man Steam Packet ferry operator, it carried 37,941 passengers during this year’s TT period, deploying three vessels to meet demand – Manxman, Manannan and Ben My Chree. This was similar to the number in 2024 (37,808), which then increased to 39,469 in 2025. However, the 2026 tally fell by just more than 1500, perhaps reflecting visitor reluctance after poor weather afflicted the event last year (and has now been repeated with cancellation of the blue-riband Senior TT race for a second consecutive time this year).
Steam Packet services operated across a number of ports, including Heysham in Lancashire, Liverpool, Dublin, and, more recently, Larne in Northern Ireland.
Somewhat ironically, the Steam Packet’s Manxman flagship sullied its reputation by breaking down at sea a few days after the TT period finished and was consigned to its berth in Douglas harbour with the assistance of a tug before the company’s engineering team tackled grievous technical issues that took 48 hours of round-the-clock effort to fix.
In parallel to the maritime performance, between 22 May and 9 June, some 56,106 TT fans also passed through the Island’s Ronaldsway airport. This passenger volume included both scheduled flights and private jets.