Illiam Quayle has marked himself down as a future star of the fabled TT Mountain Course after four impressive and mature performances at the 2026 Manx Grand Prix.
Quayle displayed a professional attitude and approach to his course debut and from the first day he listened intently to advice from 10-times TT winner Ian Lougher and his team.
It was a proud father and son during the first newcomer's qualifying session as Illiam and a few others were led round by none other than former TT winner Richard 'Milky' Quayle.
Illiam went from strength to strength during the weather hit qualifying week and continually improved his times in every session, and he was rewarded for his efforts by moving up 30 places in the starting order for both the Sportbike and Supersport Manx GP's.
His first ever race on the TT course was the Sportbike Manx GP on the Paton S1-R and he quickly settled down to record his quickest lap of the week on the opening lap to slot into 17th place, and with a lap of 110.569mph he finished a brilliant 13th and third best newcomer.
This was followed a few hours later with 24th in the Supersport race where he was frustrated by the quick shift and autoblip stopping on the CBR600RR as he went on to his last lap.
With bad weather forecast for the latter part of the week the organisers tried to pack as many races in as possible and again Illiam was out in two races on the one day in the Junior Manx GP and Senior Manx GP, both essentially the same races as Saturday but under a different name.
This time Illiam was 15th on the Paton, and with the problem on the CBR600RR that hampered him in the first race rectified by the team, he climbed to an excellent 18th place in the Senior race with a fastest lap of 114.802mph.
A very satisfying Mountain Course debut for the young Manx rider who will surely go from strength to strength.
[ The thoughts of everyone at Team ILR are with the families and friends of Mauro Poncini and Sam Naughton who tragically lost their lives at the 2026 Manx GP, and we wish a speedy recovery to all the riders who were injured ]
Team ILR principal Ian Lougher:
"As normal these days it seems to be the weather that makes life very difficult for everyone racing on the island.
But I have to praise Gary Thompson, all the organisers and marshals for making it all happen.
For Illiam, he tackled a difficult week with total professionalism and dedication bringing both bikes home with some great results and getting quicker all the time. He has a bright future.
Lastly, a big thank-you goes to Asa, Willy, Paul, Jacko, Lorenzo, John, Rob, Mark and Keiko who worked so hard as usual."
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