Irish team Laylaw Racing is nursing a pair of 250cc Yamahas to the grid for the Lightweight Classic TT this year for ten-times TT winner Ian Lougher and Manx Grand Prix winner Michael Sweeney.

The 54-year-old Lougher will chase victory on a 2004 TZ250, while Sweeney seeks a repeat of his last year’s victory in the Formula 2 class on a 1992 4DP V-twin. But a shortage of parts for the obsolete 250s is a major problem for team operators Eddie Laycock and Gerry Lawler.

“Getting spares is a problem,” Laycock said. “Everything is drying up. You've got to love these bikes and treat them like little babies. We didn't do the 250cc race at the Ulster GP, so that we could keep the mileage down and be ready for the Classic TT. You can't rebuild the crankshaft more than three times because it's risky, and you just can't get them any more.”

Although the 250cc Lightweight race is now in its second year, it seems that it hasn't yet encouraged classic racing’s network of parts builders into action on the TZ Yamaha front.

“You can get a cylinder head for a Manx Norton from New Zealand, but that hasn't happened for the Yamahas yet,” Laycock said, referring to the fact that freshly made pieces for other classic bikes are available from a variety of sources, including in Britain.

However, the Lawlaw team is hungry for success in the Lightweight race. Lougher finished second to Padgett Racing’s Bruce Anstey on a Honda last year, and Sweeney was eighth overall. “This year they've seeded the top 20 riders, and Ian’s got No 1,” Laycock said. “So he's going to have to get all the birds off the track. But we'd love to win - that's the plan.”