Rutter family to receive the ultimate TT honour

A corner at Glen Helen will be renamed Rutter in honour of Michael and his late father Tony, who both registered seven victories apiece on the Mountain Course.

Between them, they chalked up 38 podiums and 170 starts, while a celebratory lap is also planned.

It was originally set to take place on Wednesday but is now waiting to be rescheduled. Michael, who sadly lost his much-loved father Tony aged 78 due to a short illness in 2020, feels it will be a fitting send off.

"To get a corner on the Isle of Man TT circuit named after me and my dad is an amazing honour," Michael said.

"Going over my career, it's been nice to be on the podium and I've been lucky enough to win.

"I was speechless at the time when I found out that the corner was going to be named after me and my dad.

"It's quite incredible. My dad doing 30 years and this is my 30th year from when I first went there,"

"Especially with the corner because I only knew about the parade lap to begin with.

"Unfortunately, my dad passed away during Covid and there was only me with him and just five of us were allowed to his funeral.

"It was really hard so this is a big thing for me because so many people followed my dad and liked my dad through his racing career.

"So it's a good send off to him in my eyes. If he knew about it, he would definitely be smiling down."

The Rutter's legendary affiliation with TT dates to 1965 when the late Tony Rutter embarked on the first of a staggering 83 TT races at the age of 23.

Tony spent the late 1960s rising through the ranks before establishing himself as one of the best British riders in the 1970s along with Charlie Williams, Mick Grant and John Williams.

He made his first podium in 1972 when he finished runners-up to the great Giacomo Agostini in the Junior Race.

The following year, Tony claimed his maiden TT win riding on a 350cc and achieved back-to-back triumphs by repeating the feat in 1974.

In 1979, Tony registered his fastest ever lap on the TT Mountain Course at an average speed of 112.32pm while riding a Suzuki RC500.

Tony continued his success into the 1980s and romped to four consecutive Formula Two TT races with Duncati between 1981 and 1984.

A multi-rider crash at Montjuic Circuit in Spain, which almost cost him his life, deprived him of the opportunity of contending for a fifth straight victory.

However, Tony did return, albeit far from his glittering best, before eventually retiring in 1991.

Aside from at TT, Tony had also recorded five victories at Ulster Grand Prix, nine wins at the North West 200 and had twice been crowned British champion.

Meanwhile, his son Michael was following in his footsteps and debuted in TT Isle of Man alongside teammate Robert Dunlop.

He achieved his first podium finish in 1996 and claimed his first TT win in the Junior Race in 1998.

After a seven-year break, Michael returned to the TT Mountain Course in 2007 and went onto collect six more wins in the lightweight and TT Zero classes to equal his his father Tony's record.

This year marks Michael's 30th at TT and he will be riding one of his father's Original Duncati's, a Yamaha TZ350 and a second Ducati during the Rutter Legacy Lap.