2013 Isle of Man TT
The Isle of Man will have four high profile solo riders competing in the 2013 Isle of Man TT Races fueled by Monster Energy.
Heading the field will be Ramsey man Conor Cummins who will be riding for factory Yamaha backed outfit Milwaulkee Yamaha.
The 26-year old was forced to watch from the sidelines last year as a result of the hand injury he sustained at the North West 200 but the second half of 2012 showed he’s back to his best with podiums at the Ulster GP and Southern 100.
He’ll also be gunning for glory in the Lightweight race on board one of Ryan Farquhar’s rapid KMR Kawasaki’s. Cummins is the current Superbike race lap record holder with a lap of 131.511, which he set in 2010, which is also the fastest standing start lap in the event’s history.
Dan Kneen has switched to Suzuki power which looked like it would give him best ever result as he challenged for a podium in last year’s opening Supersport race before he came off exiting Governor’s Bridge and missed the rest of the 2012 meeting. With more experience with the Suzukis, Kneen will be expected a to again be pushing hard for top six results and to feature prominently in every race.
Gavin Hunt will make his much anticipated debut at the Isle of Man TT in 2013, after impressing in the British Superstock 1000cc Championship where he’s been a regular points scorer since 2009. However, he’s also contested the North West 200 road races where he made his debut in 2010, taking a best finish of 15th in the Superstock race. He also took 16th in the opening Superbike race and recorded another impressive top twenty finish in the second Supersport race.
Son of former TT star and Senior Manx Grand Prix winner and current travelling marshal Paul Hunt, the Braddan rider will make his debut on the Mountain Course for the JAR Kawasaki team and will campaign a ZX-10R Kawasaki in the Dainese Superbike, Royal London 360º Superstock and Pokerstars Senior races. The 26-year old is sure to benefit from the tutelage of his father who competed at the TT between 1986 and 2008, taking a best finish of 4th in the 2005 Superstock race.
Completing the quartet is Dan Kneen’s brother Ryan. Like his brother, Ryan began his TT Mountain Course career at the Manx Grand Prix and also, like his brother, won the newcomers race, taking the honours in the ‘A’ race in 2008. He also took podiums in the Senior and Senior Classic in 2009. After a year away, he’ll be keen to get to grips with the challenge of racing on the Mountain Course again.
Paul Phillips (TT and Motorsport Manager, Isle of Man Government commented) says: “It’s great to see such a strong local representation at the TT races. Conor and Dan will both be challenging for honors but in Gavin and Ryan we have two future stars of the TT as well. It bodes really well for the Island to have such talented riders competing in the races.”
