Three former solo champions head a full entry list for July’s 69th Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Southern 100.
2022 champion Davey Todd returns with the Milwaukee BMW Motorrad machines, hoping to emulate his success of two years ago.
Joining the Yorkshireman who picked up first TT wins earlier this month will be Dean Harrison, championship winner in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and Michael Dunlop, who won the solo crown in 2016, 2012 and 2011.
Harrison will be aboard Honda machinery and Dunlop will be on the Hawk Racing machine he piloted at the TT.
It certainly will not be a ‘three-horse’ race around the 4.25-mile Billown course, with Jamie Coward, Dominic Herbertson, Mike Browne, Paul Jordan, Rob Hodson and Michael Sweeney among a high-quality entry list for the event’s solo classes.
That’s without mentioning Manx riders Nathan Harrison, Joe Yeardsley, Paul Cassidy, Jamie Williams, Dan Sayle, and Marc Colvin will also be looking to make their presence felt during the three days of racing action.
Pete Founds and Jevan Walmsley head a stellar list of entries for the event’s three-wheeled action, with no less than four previous champions returning with similar ambitions to return home with the coveted sidecar title.
The two-time champions (2019 and 2022) will have four-time winners Tim Reeves (2013, 2015, 2016 and 2018) and Mark Wilkes to contend with along with 2012 winner Ben Birchall with new passenger Kevin Rousseau making his Billown Course debut.
To spice matters up add in 1997 champion Greg Lambert with Andrew Haynes and 1982 victors Tony Baker and Dave Ryder.
Also among the entry list are Wayne Lockey/Matthew Rostron; Lee Crawford/Scott Hardie; Alan Founds/Rhys Gibbons; Shaun and Ben Chandler; Steve and Matty Ramsden.
Two teams from France, Eric Lenser and Anais Rosset and Steveens Palacoeur and Yann Druel, will also debut at next month’s event as will Eastbourne pairing Ross Buchanan and Adam Evans and local Manx crew Jim and Ben Gale.
The action gets under way on the evening of Monday, July 8 between 6.05pm and 9.40pm with practice and continues on Tuesday with final practice, plus two races, the first of which starts at 8pm.
Wednesday has four races, while Championship Day on Thursday sees five races in the morning session between 9.30am and 12.45pm and four in the afternoon between 1.30pm and 4.45pm including the two feature races, the Solo and Sidecar Championships.
The Southern 100 concludes on the Thursday evening with an open-air prize presentation in the Market Square in Castletown from 8.30pm.