The Southern 100 — Billown road races, dates, where to watch and tickets

The Southern 100 2027 runs from Monday 12 to Thursday 15 July. It’s the island’s other big bike race after the TT, held on the Billown Course, 4.25 miles of closed public roads around Castletown, and it calls itself “the friendly races”. Top road racers come, the lap is short enough that bikes pass every couple of minutes, and grandstand seats started at £5 in 2026. This page covers how the week works, where to watch, tickets and getting there.

Southern 100 2027 dates and how the week works

The organisers confirmed on 10 July 2026 that the next Southern 100 runs from Monday 12 to Thursday 15 July 2027 (southern100.com (opens in a new tab)). The 2027 schedule, entries and ticketing hadn’t been published when we checked in October 2026; the club says details will be “issued in due course”. The meeting runs the week after Tynwald Day in 2027; the rest of July is on what’s on. Here’s how the 2026 meeting ran, which is the best guide (2026 schedule (opens in a new tab)):

Day	What’s on	Roads closed (2026)
Monday	Newcomers’ laps and qualifying	6pm–9.40pm
Tuesday	Qualifying	6pm–9.40pm
Wednesday	First race in the morning; five races in the evening	9.45am–11.50am, then from 6pm
Thursday	Championship Day, ending with the Solo Championship	9.30am–about 4.45pm, with a lunch break

On Thursday night the prize presentation is held in Castletown’s Market Square at 8.30pm, which is half the fun.

The same club also runs the Pre-TT Classic Road Races on the same course in late May, for classic machines. In 2027 they’re on Friday 28 to Sunday 30 May, finishing the day before TT qualifying starts. See our TT schedule for how the dates fit together.

Where to watch

These are the spots in the organisers’ 2026 spectator guide (opens in a new tab), in lap order. Once the roads close, you stay where you are until they reopen, so pick your spot before you set off.

Spot	Distance	Why go
Start/finish, Castletown bypass	0 miles	Mass starts, lap boards, photo finishes. Grandstand and food
Ballakeighan	0.55 miles	First corner. Busy on the opening laps
Iron Gate	1.11 miles	Quick right, then left onto Ballanorris (“Joey’s Gate”)
Ballabeg Hairpin	1.55 miles	The slowest corner. Good for watching riders work
Cross Four Ways	2.80 miles	The overtaking spot. Toilets and hot food
Church Bends	3.10 miles	Fast sweeps between the walls of Malew Church
Stadium Corner	—	Fast left. Disabled viewing area and parking
Castletown Corner	—	The last corner. Grandstand, food and toilets

For a first visit: watch a practice evening from Cross Four Ways or Church Bends, where you’ll see bikes braking hard and changing direction, then spend Championship Day in a grandstand.

For accessible viewing, Stadium Corner has a dedicated disabled viewing area and parking, and the Nicholson grandstand has disabled access and parking within the paddock.

At Ballakeighan you watch from farm fields reached through a gate on the course, so get there before the roads close and respect the land.

Tickets and prices

You don’t need a ticket to stand at the roadside. The organisers’ spectator guide lists no charge for any of the viewing points, just gates, parking fields and catering. You pay for a grandstand seat.

There are three grandstands, all on the Castletown bypass. These are 2026 prices, from the organisers (opens in a new tab) (September 2026):

Session	Grandstand seat
Monday evening	£5
Tuesday evening	£5
Wednesday morning	£5
Wednesday evening	£10
Thursday, Championship Day	£25

• IFGL Start/Finish grandstand: starts, finishes and the lap boards.
• Nicholson grandstand: covered, in the holding area, with a view of the podium.
• Castletown Corner (School Hill) grandstand: the final corner, where the last-lap moves happen.

2027 tickets aren’t on sale yet. When we checked in October 2026 the club hadn’t announced 2027 grandstand prices or an on-sale date. Tickets are sold on southern100.com (opens in a new tab). In 2026 the organisers announced they were on sale on 15 June (opens in a new tab). Paid supporter memberships (opens in a new tab) include early access to tickets, and all three stands had sold out for 2026. Weather insurance is offered at extra cost. Without it, tickets are non-refundable.

Getting there and staying

• By train: the Steam Railway stops at Castletown station, a short walk from the course. It runs in season, which includes July.
• By bus: Bus Vannin routes 1, 2, 11 and 12 run from Douglas via the airport to Castletown. See our getting around guide.
• By air: the airport is next to Castletown. You could almost watch from arrivals.
• By sea: the Steam Packet sponsors the event. It reported 9,927 sea arrivals over the 2026 race period, up 7% on 2025. For 2027 it isn’t selling race-week packages yet, but you can register your interest (opens in a new tab) for early access (October 2026). See our ferry guide and taking a motorbike on the ferry. Bringing a bike for the week? See a motorbike holiday outside race weeks for routes away from the course.

Staying: Castletown is small and fills up fast in race week. Douglas is around 20 minutes’ drive away and has far more beds. The official travel partner is Duke Travel, which sells packages. Our places to stay and Castletown guide cover the options.

The rest of race week

In 2026 the Fanzone in Castletown’s Market Square ran Monday to Thursday, 10am to 11pm, with live music, rider Q&As, a bar and racing on a big screen. On the Sunday before racing, the club holds memorial laps and a service at Kirk Malew church (2pm and 3pm in 2026).

Can’t be there? In 2026 the Wednesday evening and Thursday racing were streamed live for £14.99 per meeting. Manx Radio covered every session on AM 1368, and on 87.9FM around the course. Details were on the how to follow page (opens in a new tab).