They say you never forget your first, and the Carole Nash Sportbike TT on Friday June 5, 2026 will live long in the memory of Rhys Stephenson.
At just 20-years-old, the Skegness racer made his Mountain Course debut at this year’s TT – focussing solely on the Sportbike class and riding the same Triumph Daytona 660 he races in the British Superbike support classes on the short circuits.Rhys was one of four Mountain Course virgins who originally signed up to race solos at this year’s TT, but the only one to make it to the finish line. Neither Franco Bourne nor Jaimie van Sikkelerus turned a wheel in anger – Bourne withdrawing on the eve of practice for personal reasons and Dutchman Van Sikkelerus unable to recover sufficiently from pre-season injuries to take his slot.
That meant only Stephenson and highly-rated Northern Irish rider Gary McCoy took the controlled newcomer lap on the morning of first practice, with McCoy being ruled out of further competition after crashing out of Tuesday’s opening Monster Energy Supersport TT.
Owing to the bad weather which blighted race week, Stephenson, whose family run team is aptly named Rocket Racing, had to wait a week between the end of practice and his race on Friday. Treating the two-lap Sportbike TT as another learning opportunity, the youngest rider at this year’s event impressed with both his speed and mature approach. He came home 24th, ahead of a number of experienced TT competitors, and posted a 114mph lap. The performance earned Rhys a coveted bronze replica of the TT trophy for finishing within 110% of winner Michael Dunlop’s time.
Speaking after the race, Stephenson said: “We treated the race as a ‘fast practice session’ as we had seven days off (since our last practice) and I just wanted to get the finish really.”
The youngster has an impressive CV on the short circuits. As a teenager he earned a season in the prestigious Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, on the back of his performances in the British Talent Cup. Last year he was twice on the podium in the new Pirelli National Sportbike Championship, but he’s had his heart set on riding the TT course for a few years now and has not been disappointed.
“This tops the lot,” he exclaims. “The British championship’s great, with some brilliant riders, but from a rider’s perspective this has got the lot. It’s got the jumps, the speed, the walls… everything I dreamed off really!”
But the work to even get to the TT has, as is the case for most riders, been massive. As with so many racers, Rhys’ family made many sacrifices to get him through the youth ranks, even selling the family home to chase the dream. Rhys’ orange novice bib is covered in the names of those who have contributed financially to get him on the grid, Skegness company Pell Plant Hire being his team’s title sponsor for the TT, but he’s also been working over 80 hours most weeks to raise funds to go racing.
On top of that he’s had a rigorous programme of learning the course set out by the TT’s rider liaison officers. “It’s been tremendous,” he adds. “I’ve been over (to the Isle of Man) three times since February and must have done 100 laps in the car. On top of that I’ve been watching onboard videos and, every night when I get home from work, I go do three or four laps (on the TT game) on the games console. You need to do the prep. If you don’t you turn up unprepared and struggle.”
Rhys’ performances didn’t go unnoticed as he was awarded the RST Star of Tomorrow award. Judged by the rider liaison officers, who coach the riders ahead of their debut, and previously awarded to big names like Davey Todd and the Crowe brothers, the prize will see Stephenson get a support package from TT safety partners Arai and RST next year.
We look forward to following Rhys in the years to come.
Photos: Isle of Man TT Races
