The 2026 Manx Grand Prix will go down in the history books thanks to an extraordinary performance from Scotsman Johnny Stewart, who etched his name into motorcycling folklore by becoming the first competitor ever to claim four race victories in a single week at the iconic Mountain Course. Stewart’s record-breaking achievement was sealed with a commanding victory in the Okell’s Senior Manx Grand Prix, the spectacular finale to what will be remembered as one of the most memorable editions of the famous road racing festival.
A Historic Hat-Trick: Three Wins Before the Final Showdown
Before the Senior race even got underway, Johnny Stewart had already cemented his place among the greats of the Manx Grand Prix. His charge began with convincing victories in both the Road Racing News Sportbike race and the Glover Law Supersport race, where he outpaced a high-quality field to stand atop the rostrum ahead of Graham McAleese and Eddy Wormald. Those results set the stage for a tilt at history in the Carole Nash Junior Manx Grand Prix, run over three gruelling laps of the 37.73-mile Mountain Course.
The Junior race delivered drama and excitement from the moment the starting flag dropped. In a surprise development, it was sidecar racing royalty Dan Sayle who led the charge to Glen Helen, holding an early advantage of more than two seconds over pre-race favourite Stewart. Owen Monaghan and Eddy Wormald were locked in a tight battle just behind, with less than five seconds covering the top four riders.
By the time the field reached Ramsey, Stewart had moved into the lead, clawing his way past Sayle to establish an advantage of just under a second as they thundered across the mountain section towards the pits. At the end of the opening lap, Stewart had extended his lead to five seconds, recording an average speed of 115.961mph to lay down a decisive marker. Behind him, the battle for the remaining podium positions was fierce, with Wormald edging clear of Liam Chawke while Owen Monaghan, Graham McAleese and Andy Farrell raced wheel-to-wheel further down the order.
Conditions remained near-perfect as the race progressed into the second lap. Stewart steadily increased his advantage, opening up a gap of more than nine seconds by the Bungalow, and extending that to 12.5 seconds as he began the final circuit. Tragedy and drama struck, however, when Liam Chawke came off his machine at Black Dub on the third lap. Chawke was reported conscious and talking at the scene before being airlifted to Noble’s Hospital for treatment, and race officials promptly red-flagged the event. Under regulations, the result was declared based on standings at the end of lap two — handing Stewart his third victory of the week.
The result meant Stewart joined the late Dan Kneen as only the second rider ever to win three Manx Grand Prix races in a single week. Speaking after the podium ceremony, Stewart was quick to acknowledge the magnitude of the achievement. “It’s mega to equal what Dan did,” he said. “People were mentioning it last night, and it feels pretty cool. Dan was a pretty cool guy. Conditions were perfect out there and I was just chipping away. Maybe I was a little slow on the first lap, but the boys in the pits gave me a bit of a kick — get a move on — so I made the second lap count. It’s always nice to have a bit of a buffer!”
Dan Sayle, who took a hugely impressive second place, admitted he had been caught out by Stewart’s relentless pace. “I made a lot of changes to the bike before the race and wasn’t sure how it would go,” he explained. “I knew I had to get a run on Johnny at the start because he’s not the fastest off the line, and I did get away well, but then I got held up in traffic. At that point I knew it would be hard work to stay ahead. I had to decide — settle for second or have a go? In the end I’m delighted with how it went.”
Completing the podium was Eddy Wormald, who continued a stellar week of racing. “We finally got to the bottom of the stability issues we’d been having,” Wormald revealed. “We lifted the front end a little and the bike was transformed — no headaches at all all the way round. It felt brilliant out there.”
The Stage is Set: Four from Four in the Okell’s Senior
With three wins already secured, all eyes turned to the Okell’s Senior Manx Grand Prix — the final race of the 2026 festival — and the chance for Stewart to scale heights no rider had ever reached before. The Senior race remains the crown jewel of the Manx Grand Prix programme, run over four full laps of the legendary Mountain Course. The 2025 edition had produced one of the closest finishes in history, with Caomhan Canny edging out Chris Cook by barely half a second for victory, while Jamie Williams beat Ryan Whitehall to third place by a margin of just seven-thousandths of a second. It was a reminder that at the Manx Grand Prix, nothing can ever be taken for granted.
As race day dawned, however, the weather delivered glorious sunshine and calm conditions. In a personal touch that would become one of the enduring images of the week, a piper stood ready at the startline — a special request from Stewart himself — playing as the machines rumbled away from the line on his quest for history.
Race Report: Stewart Sprints Clear in the Opening Stages
True to his form all week, Stewart was quick off the mark and immediately set about laying down a blistering pace. By the Glen Helen checkpoint, he had opened up an advantage of 1.5 seconds over Eddy Wormald, with Owen Monaghan a further three seconds back in third. Graham McAleese was tucked in close behind in fourth, while Andy Farrell and Harley Rushton completed the top six. It was tight at the fringes of the leaderboard too — barely three seconds separated positions seven through 13, with Kyle Casement leading the charge for the best newcomer award in seventh overall.
As the race moved north towards Ramsey, Stewart turned the wick up and pulled clear in devastating fashion. His lead had ballooned to fully ten seconds over Wormald, while behind him McAleese and Monaghan were locked in a gripping duel for the final podium spot, separated by less than a quarter of a second.
Crossing the line to complete the first lap, Stewart clocked an extraordinary average speed of 121.585mph and extended his advantage to 12.5 seconds. The fierce battle behind him had shifted in Stewart’s wake — McAleese had found a way past Monaghan on the mountain run and now occupied third place by a comfortable margin of nearly three seconds. The contest to be crowned top newcomer was also heating up: Kevin Lavery held the advantage in the standings, with Laurent Hoffmann and Kyle Casement keeping the pressure on all the way.
Pitstops and Strategy: Gaps Open Up and Tighten Again
By Ballaugh early on lap two, the top three remained unchanged, though Owen Monaghan was riding with great determination and had closed to within five seconds of third-placed McAleese. Further back in the field, Gabriel Pons had moved into contention for the newcomer honours, passing Kyle Casement and setting his sights on Kevin Lavery.
Approaching the Bungalow, Stewart’s lead had swelled to almost 30 seconds. Behind him, Wormald and McAleese were circulating on the road together, separated by ten seconds on corrected time. Most remarkably of all, Stewart was closing in on the outright Manx Grand Prix lap record, clocking a staggering average speed of 122.038mph as he screamed towards the pitlane at the end of lap two.
The pit stops brought fresh drama and shifted the calculations. Dale Brew posted the fastest time of the day at 39.823 seconds, while Markus Karlsson and Graham McAleese both made lightning stops to eat into the gaps ahead of them. McAleese’s stop in 42.66 seconds was particularly effective, slashing his deficit to Wormald to barely three seconds. There was disappointment, however, for Laurent Hoffmann — handed a 30-second penalty for exceeding speed limits in the pitlane, a blow that severely dented his hopes of claiming the best newcomer title.
Closing Laps: History Comes Within Reach
With two laps remaining, Stewart held a lead of 25.8 seconds. By Ramsey on lap three, that advantage had stretched to 35 seconds. Barring mechanical misfortune, victory — and that elusive fourth win — was all but assured. Behind him, the fight for second place was still burning bright: the gap between Wormald and McAleese stood at just one second. By the time they crossed the mountain to begin the final lap, Wormald had rallied and pulled back a little ground, leading McAleese by just over five seconds.
Gabriel Pons now held a commanding lead in the newcomer stakes, while Hoffmann faced a herculean final lap to recover lost ground after his penalty.
Stewart showed no signs of easing off as he began his final charge towards history. Through Glen Helen he led by 34 seconds; by Ramsey he had pushed that advantage out to 40. Wormald continued to hold McAleese at arm’s length, the gap hovering just below five seconds as they raced towards the finish line.
The Finish: Stewart Secures Four from Four
When Johnny Stewart finally crossed the finish line at the end of four punishing laps, he recorded a final lap speed of 121.062mph and a winning margin of 35.8 seconds. He had done it — four victories from four starts in a single week, a feat no competitor had ever achieved in more than a century of Manx Grand Prix history.
Eddy Wormald held on to take a magnificent second place, adding yet another rostrum finish to his haul for the week, while Graham McAleese completed the podium to secure his second top-three result of the meeting. Gabriel Pons took the honours as best newcomer after a composed and impressive ride, while further back the field completed their journeys around the Mountain Course before the chequered flag finally fell on the 2026 festival.
Reactions: “It’s Just Off the Charts”
An emotional Johnny Stewart took to the podium to the sound of a piper playing Flower of Scotland, before celebrating in style with one of the most memorable burnouts seen on the Manx Grand Prix rostrum. Speaking to reporters, he struggled at first to find the words to sum up what he had achieved.
“It honestly doesn’t feel real,” Stewart admitted. “At the start of the week, just to finish a race would have been mega. To win once? Amazing. To win twice? Even better. But four? That is just off the charts.”
Eddy Wormald, who ended the week with a string of podium places, reflected on a race that had tested him to the limit. “I was a little bit sloppy on the opening laps, to be honest,” he said. “At one stage I honestly didn’t think I’d be on the podium at all. Then I saw P2 flash up on the dash and thought — right, better get my head down! I managed to salvage it in the end, and I’m really happy with second.”
Graham McAleese, delighted with another podium finish, admitted he had left himself with far too much work to do early on. “I gave myself a mountain to climb — literally!” he laughed. “If I can get away from the start a little quicker next time, it’ll make life a lot easier! But credit to the team and everyone who works on the bike — they gave me a machine capable of fighting right to the end.”
Ollie Neale, Managing Director of headline sponsors Okell’s, was among the first to congratulate Stewart. “This is the perfect end to an incredible week,” Neale said. “We are so pleased for Johnny personally — what he has achieved here is truly remarkable. This has been my first Manx Grand Prix as a sponsor, and it has been an absolute privilege. The atmosphere, the racing, the competitors — it has been brilliant from start to finish. Events like this give the sport’s rising stars the chance to test themselves on the greatest road circuit in the world, and long may that continue.”
Conclusion: The Curtain Falls on a Historic Fortnight
When Emmett Burke crossed the line as the final classified rider, the 2026 Manx Grand Prix was brought to a close. It had been a festival defined by record-breaking achievement, incredible racing, and the emergence of a new legend atop the Mountain Course. Johnny Stewart’s four victories in a single week stand as a landmark accomplishment — one that may never be beaten — and cements his place alongside the all-time greats of Manx road racing. The memories created across those four laps of the Mountain Course will endure for decades to come, a reminder of exactly what makes the Manx Grand Prix such a unique and treasured part of motorsport history.
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