Sidecar racing will return to the Billown Course for next year’s Southern 100.
Southern 100 Motorcycle Racing Ltd has confirmed they will feature on the Motor Isle Billown Course for the 2027 Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Southern 100 Road Races.
The races will operate under “updated and improved 2025 Formula 2 (F2) technical regulations designed to ensure both competitor safety and financial accessibility”.
Following the withdrawal of the Sidecar class at the 2026 Isle of Man TT, due to a serious incident and safety concerns surrounding aerodynamic undertrays, the Southern 100 took the “difficult decision” to also stand down the class from the 2026 races due to the short notice between events.
Since then, the Isle of Man TT organisers have conducted a review and subsequently announced regulations mandating a transition away from traditional Supersport 600cc engines toward lower-powered BSB Sportbike-specification units.
Refined Regulations
A Southern 100 spokesperson said: “After consultation with teams and with representatives of the Auto Cycle Union, rather than introducing a completely new class formula for 2027, the Southern 100 has refined the proven 2025 F2 regulations.
“This will allow competitors to continue using standard Supersport 600cc engines.”
They added: “To directly address the core safety issues identified in 2026, these updated regulations will strictly exclude aerodynamic undertrays as well as other regulation improvements.
“All competing outfits will be subject to rigorous pre-event inspections by Southern 100 Technical Control to ensure complete compliance, and their decision on any machine’s eligibility will be final.”
Positive Discussions
Following the announcement, Giles Olley, Clerk of the Course for the Southern 100, said: “Sidecars have always been an integral and much-loved part of ‘The Friendly Races’, and our focus since last summer has been on bringing the class back safely and sustainably for 2027.
“Following positive discussions with the Sidecar paddock and the ACU, we have chosen a path that addresses the key safety requirements while keeping costs manageable for our competitors.”
He added: “By building upon our 2025 F2 600cc regulations and specifically banning aerodynamic undertrays, we are directly addressing the stability issues identified last year whilst ensuring that the event is still accessible to the teams who want to come and race.
“Because most F2 outfits never ran aerodynamic undertrays in the first place, teams can now prepare their existing machinery for the Motor Isle Billown Course with minimal work and cost.”
He said the technical control team would enforce the exclusion “strictly” and its decision would be final.
“We cannot wait to welcome a full, competitive grid of Sidecar crews back to the Southern 100 in 2027,” he said.
The full 2027 Southern 100 Sidecar Technical Regulations will be published shortly and made available to all prospective entrants via the official Southern 100 website.