Isle of Man TT: Racing to be streamed live for first time in 2022

The event attracts thousands of fans to the island each year

Coverage of the Isle of Man TT races will be streamed live for the first time in 2022.

The event has been cancelled for the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The racing will be shown on a dedicated digital channel, which will broadcast TT content all year round.

The changes were announced at a special event organised to mark what would have been Senior Race Day had the 2021 event been able to go ahead.

Changes to the schedule include the pushing back of the start of qualifying for the classes to Sunday afternoon from its traditional Saturday evening slot, and the establishment of a Friday afternoon session.

In a revamp of the race day schedule, each race will be preceded by a single warm-up lap of the 37.73-mile Mountain Course, replacing the midweek qualifying and practice sessions.

Organisers said the changes would create "a more streamlined daily schedule with roads opening earlier than currently scheduled".

Next year's races are due to take place between 29 May and 10 June.

The Isle of Man event had been cancelled for two consecutive years

When it comes to the individual races, a change in the rulebook for the Lightweight TT will see it rebranded the Supertwin TT, which will see twin-cylinder machines up to 700cc permitted to compete.

The move would allow Yamaha and Aprilia machinery to take part in the class for the first time in the modern era.

Changes will also be made to the sidecar class, with 900cc parallel twin-cylinder engine machinery allowed to compete alongside the traditional outfits.

A more radical shake-up of the race schedule is provisionally in place for the 2023 event, subject to consultation over road closures on the island.

The proposals would see the race schedule expanded to 10 races from eight, spanning six days rather than the usual four, in a bid to create "more opportunities" for fans to see the action.

Under the changes the event would both start and finish a day later than previous years.

The pandemic has led to the cancellation of all major motorsport events on the island for two years.