Official qualifying for the TT begins in earnest on the Mountain Course this evening, Saturday.

Roads close between Ramsey to Creg-ny-Baa from 4.45pm and on the remainder of the course from 6pm.

There will be a speed-controlled lap for solo newcomers getting underway at 6.20pm, followed by sidecar newcomers at 6.35.

From 6.45pm there will be a timed qualifying session for Lightweight, Supersport and Newcomers.

If conditions are not suitable for the Saturday session it will be postponed until Sunday afternoon 1-5pm (Mountain Road closes from 11.30am).

The next scheduled session is Monday evening (as above), with further qualifying on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, all subject to weather conditions.

In the event of further postponements, provision has been reserved for road closures on both Thursday and Friday afternoons for further qualifying, with roads closing from 11.15am on the mountain both days.

All being well, the first race will be the Superbike TT at midday on Saturday, June 1, followed by the first Sidecar race at 3pm.