Positive update on 2026 Tandragee 100 as organisers welcome exciting shift in 'momentum' for road racing
The Around-A-Pound Tandragee 100 will again take place in June next year after the date change proved a success for the return of the popular road race this summer following a three-year absence.
A requirement for vital resurfacing work on parts of the 5.3-mile course in Co Armagh prevented the event going ahead in 2023 and 2024, but the famous meeting made its eagerly awaited comeback in 2025, when record 33-time Isle of Man TT winner Michael Dunlop made his first appearance at Tandragee since 2013.
Dunlop delighted his supporters with a Superbike double and new outright lap record at over 110mph, while Ireland’s Mike Browne doubled up in the Supersport class for Northern Ireland team BPE by Russell Racing.
Tandragee 100 Event Director Anne Forsythe was delighted with the success of the event and says it’s “all systems go” for 2026 as she welcomed the wave of positivity around the future of road racing, with the Mid Antrim 150 set to return next year, while a fresh effort is underway to revive the Ulster Grand Prix with Stormont support at Dundrod in 2027.
“We were absolutely thrilled to have to have it back – it took us a while to get the road resurfacing work done, but we got there in the end and it was worth all the hard work to see all those happy faces,” said Forsythe.
“Both the spectators and competitors alike enjoyed themselves, so it was worth all the long hours put in, and we had great crowds and great racing – really super racing across all the classes.
“People from all over the world were there and we had some lovely feedback. A whole motorcycle group from France made the trek over, and they had some great craic.
“It was lovely for Michael Dunlop to be back at Tandragee and it was like his homecoming after he had just been confirmed for an MBE.
“Also, what really made the club feel fantastic was that Michael commented on how nice it was to be at an event where he was made to feel so welcome, and it was clear that he had enjoyed himself.
“There was a bit of banter about him wearing the newcomers bib [after 12 years away] but he took it in good humour!”
The 2026 Tandragee 100 – first held in 1958 – will take place from June 26-27, with Forsythe and the organising North Armagh club hailing the decision to switch from the meeting’s traditional May date to later in the year as a success.
“Everything so far is going according to plan, the club’s working hard behind the scenes on the risk assessments and funding applications, so we’re in the full throes of getting organised for 2026 and it’s all systems go,” added Forsythe.
“We’re sticking with June as our date next year, it worked for us, the weather was a bit milder and you are never guaranteed good weather, but it was a bit of a test for us to see if a June date would work, in terms of what riders would come compared to if we run our event before the North West and the TT.
“But as it turned out, it meant that the guys that had been to the TT were more relaxed and enjoyed themselves at Tandragee, and that was a very nice thing to see.
“We had a great mix of winners across the races and when it came down to points for the man of the meeting, it was something special that a local man in Shaun Anderson got the award.
“It was fabulous as well to see fast guys coming through with the likes of Kevin Keyes, Marcus Simpson and Ryan Whitehall, so there is a new wave of riders coming up, which is lovely to see.
“The racing all the way down the field in each class was sensational.”
With renewed hope for the return of the Ulster Grand Prix, Forsythe acknowledged that the future of road racing is looking much more positive than it has for several years.
“It’s fabulous to hear talk of plans for Dundrod for 2027 and clubs in the Ulster Centre need to keep working hard, because if it ends up that we don't have any racing in the south, we need to have enough races here to make it viable for the competitors, both in the south of Ireland and in the Ulster Centre,” she said.
“Otherwise why would you build a bike? Or the other possibility is that you lose riders to England. For road racing here, there’s nothing like it, so we’ve got to keep working hard.
“Some of us have always believed it was possible, and now there’s a lot more who believe it’s possible, and that’s great to see, so there’s a sense that there is some momentum that is building.
“The Ulster Grand Prix coming back would be fantastic for us all and I’ve always said, as much as Tandragee is my first love, the reality is that we all support each other in one way or another.
“And because each event is different, that variety in road racing is what keeps spectators and competitors interested, so the more variety we have, the more chance we have of building for the future.”
Spectator packages for the 2026 Tandragee 100 are available now, with spectators receiving a unique QR code which will be scanned upon arrival at the course, where a race programme will be provided along as access to parking and designated viewing areas over the race weekend.
The official charity of the race for 2026 is B Positive – a Northern Ireland–based children’s cancer charity supporting families affected by childhood cancer.