DESCRIBED as the ultimate ‘must see’ event for motorsport fans across the globe, the Isle of Man TT finally gets underway this Sunday after a two year hiatus.

Pre the pandemic, every May and June the small country between England and Ireland turned into motorcycle nirvana as the world’s greatest road racers gathered to test themselves against the incredible ‘Mountain Course’ – a 37.73 mile route which is carved out of the Island’s public closed roads.

But the pandemic did bring the famous event to a temporarily halt, but riders and fans can rejoice again ahead of a fortnight of thrills, with qualifying week due to get underway tomorrow prior to next Saturday's opening race day.

One rider who will be looking to make a statement comeback is Bradford star Dean Harrison and he will be looking to defend his Senior TT title, an accolade which he claimed in style at the last event in 2019.

Speaking to the T&A ahead of the first qualifying round on Sunday, Harrison admitted it's been a long time coming.

He said: "I'm absolutely buzzing for it; the sun is shining, I feel great and my bike feels good. I'm ready to go.

"We haven't raced here since 2019, so it's going to be great to be back. It's a fantastic course with great scenery and it's going to be nice for the spectators to return and enjoy this great event."

Harrison added: "I'm confident I can put on a good display but I am the reigning champion, so it's going to be down to me to defend it. It would be a dream for me to retain the title, however, there is 25 people who all want to achieve the same thing so it will be very hard work.

"A lot of factors will come into play because this race is one for endurance, so we'll have to see how it pans out on the day."

Harrison claimed victory last time out (2019) with a 130.824mph lap, which defeated arch rival Peter Hickman after the BMW man hit technical issues to scupper a huge lead he’d built up.

On the rivalry renewing, Harrison said: "I expect Peter (Hickman) to to be challenging at the front once again, we had a great battle last time and thankfully I won but I fully expect him to be back and firing. As I mentioned though, it's not just going to be him challenging on this occasion, I do believe there could be a larger quantity of competition."

With the Bradford speedster taking part in the British Superbike Championship over the past couple of years, its given him the chance to remain extremely active and he admitted that it's something that could work in his favour over the next fortnight.

He said: "It should help me massively because I've been on my bike a lot more than I would have been if I hadn't raced in the British Superbike Championship. Riding your bike all the time means you stay sharp, it keeps you on your toes and it means your team can spend more time together."

Ideally, I'd like to defend my title successfully at the Isle of Man, but I would certainly be happy with a podium finish."