TT titans will go head-to-head after a North West 200 meltdown
The fallout from a controversial North West 200 race decision looks like spilling over into the Isle of Man TT this week.
Michael Dunlop’s first NW200 Superbike win since 2016 was clouded in acrimony after a 10-sec penalty was rescinded, handing him the win from Davey Todd with Peter Hickman third.
Ireland’s biggest road racing event is seen as a form preview for the TT a few weeks later but three wins each to Dunlop and rising star Todd were overshadowed by animosity.
Strong winds had made braking difficult, with several riders over the event missing their braking markers.
When Hickman missed his in the first Superbike race, he pushed Dunlop wide and the two left the circuit. Hickman stopped with his foot down as required by regulations while Dunlop went over the curb, losing his advantage, but didn’t put his foot down.
Officials immediately pinged Dunlop 10 seconds but then deleted it as the 29-time TT winner scorched through the field to win.
Hickman refused to join the podium, saying later that he probably wouldn’t return to the North West 200. The inevitable outpouring of vitriol on the internet saw Hickman later post: “Thanks for the hordes of support I’ve received from the majority of teams and riders for speaking out, for the haters thanks for the fire you give me for the TT.”
Adding insult to injury for Hickman and Todd is that just months after FHO Racing dropped the pair for this year’s TT, owner Faye Ho has signed up as Dunlop’s latest sponsor.
After parting ways with FHO, 14-time TT winner Hickman and last year’s Senior TT winner Todd combined to form their own team, 8TEN Racing, with BMW factory support.
Meanwhile Dunlop has switched to BMW, running the latest WorldSBK-spec M 1000 RR for Hawk Racing, six years since he last raced that brand.
He will also run a Next-Gen-spec Ducati V2 Panigale in the Supersport races.
Dunlop was immediately competitive on the V2, a similar machine to the one Todd took to two TT podiums last year.
Dunlop’s tally at the NW200 saw wins in the Superbike, Superstock and Supersport classes. He believes he should have won another Supersport class after rivals Richard Cooper and Dean Harrison cut the final chicane after all three made contact.
Dunlop’s TT form looks ominous, including on the Ducati, which he campaigned at Daytona in the US earlier this year to prove its reliability and top speed.
Todd’s NW200 wins have marked him as Dunlop’s main rival at the TT. He won the opening Superbike race, then a leg of the Superstock class, before taking out the feature Superbike race on the final day.
Prior to last year’s race, Dunlop, Hickman and Dean Harrison were named as the main challengers for TT 2024, a fact that Todd said last week inspired him to his first two wins there. His return this year for Padgett’s Racing in the Supersport and Supertwin classes, a team he has secured several podiums with in the past, makes him a top tip for major wins this year.
While he went winless at this year’s NW200, Hickman made the podium enough times to be full of confidence for the TT, especially on his Superstock-spec BMW.
Harrison also had a strong NW200 outing but says his focus was on staying ahead of Hickman, as his Honda CBR1000RR-R doesn’t have the acceleration of the BMW but matches its top speed.
At last year’s TT, Harrison secured four podiums racing for Honda for the first time but was hobbled by last-minute preparation issues. He rides alongside evergreen John McGuinness, who at one stage looked at snatching third in that controversial NW200 Superbike race.
Another TT veteran, Michael Rutter, started his 100th race at the NW200, a remarkable achievement. He will restrict his TT outing to a Yamaha R7.
The highest performing Aussie at the NW200 was Josh Brookes, who campaigns Honda machinery for Jackson Racing at this year’s TT. Fifth in the second Superbike race backed up a sixth in an earlier Superstock leg. At last year’s TT Brookes lapped at 134.056mph on his way to a superb second in the Senior TT.
Fellow Aussie David Johnson concentrated on Isle of Man set-up at the NW200 so expect him to feature strongly at TT 2025 as he races again for Kawasaki UK’s official team. A high-speed accident ended his 2024 TT and the team feels it has unfinished business to attend to.
Meanwhile Mitch Rees, son of Kiwi Superbike legend Tony, is making his TT debut with Clive Padgett’s experienced Milenco by Padgett’s Racing team. He showed increasing speed at his first NW200, finishing 11th behind Davo Johnson in the final Superbike feature race.
