With the countdown clock ticking down to under 50 days; the seeded riders for the Supertwin Races at TT 2024 have been announced. The Metzeler Race 1 and Entire Cover Insurance Race 2 promise to give some close racing as the rising starts tackle the established elite.
Paul Jordan will be the first to face the plunge down Bray Hill. This yeas he will be Yamaha R7 mounted for the Stop & Seal / Rev2Race team. Paul has achieved a podium finish in this class and has a best lap of 121.248mph; he will be looking for top 6 finish at least. Jamie Coward is the second fastest man ever in the class at 122.52mph. He missed out on a victory by just 1.6s to Michael Dunlop in the 2019 race; having led for part of it. This year he stays with the KTS / Steadplan team on the Kawasaki and seems sure to be a challenger for a victory.
Pierre-Yves Bian has had a meteoric rise. After 1 year at the MGP; he took 4th in the Supertwins on his TT debut in 2022 and last year took 6th in Race 1; then a maiden podium with 2nd in Race 2. He is faster with each race; his best lap at 119.99mph was achieved on the final lap last year. He will be on the trusted VAS Paton. Another podium finish could well be on the cards for the first French rider to secure a TT podium finish. The vastly experienced Michael Rutter will have the number 4 plate. The winner of the race in 2017; he will be campaigning one of the exciting Yamaha R7 machines, in the Batham’s Ales colours. With a best lap of 120.974mph; he seems certain to add to his tally of top 6 finishes. Rob Hodson will be chasing Michael off the line and for this year his SMT Racing bike will be a Paton; rather than the Kawasaki campaigned last year. A former MGP winner, Rob should be a top 6 challenger in all of his races.
Michael Dunlop is the class lap record holder (from2018) at 122.75mph; he has his favoured number 6. In recent years has either won the class races or retired from them. He stays faithful to the Paton and will start as marginal favourite; however, it seems certain that to win; he will have to break his lap record. Josh Brookes has the 7 plate; he took his first TT podium with 3rd in last year’s Race 2; setting a best lap at 120.939mph in the process. He has the second Stop & Seal / Rev2Race Yamaha R7. His performances last year; in the first attempt at this class and on his TT return after a sabbatical; show that if the Yamahas have improved from last year; he will be a real threat to Dunlop, Coward and Hickman.
Davey Todd has interesting array of machinery this year. For this class he has the Dafabet Racing Kawasaki at this disposal. The team has prepared 3 race winning bikes; whilst Davey has completed only 1 racing lap in the class; that being in 2019 on the Norton. If he gels with the Kawasaki, he has the talent to be in the mix at the sharp end. The ever jovial Dominic Herbertson is next away. He will be aboard the Burrows Engineering by RK Racing Paton. These boys know how to prepare a machine and Dominic is a class rider; a top six may be within their compass.
Number 10 is now synonymous with Peter Hickman. Against his own expectations, he won Race 2 last year on what very much an experimental Yamaha R7. He set a personal best lap at 121.293mph. With more development behind them the team should have eked more power out of the engine, to reduce or eliminate the top end gap to the Kawasakis and Patons. Do not be surprised to see his name at the top of board in one of these races.
11th man away will be two times Supersport winner Gary Johnson on the second Dafabet Kawasaki; hopefully Gary will avoid the ill luck that has hampered him in recent years and have a couple of strong finishes. Stefano Bonetti is a past podium finisher in the class; he has a best lap of 120.607mph so could be in the top 10 at the end of the races. Lee Johnston has his usual number 13 plate. Lee was critically injured in the last year’s NW200 and has rebroken a leg in testing this year. This should be a year for putting in steady laps; gradually upping his pace and setting himself up for a full paced attempt next year.
Another of those whose rise has been rapid is Mike Browne. A machine blow up; whilst leading; ended his hope of winning his Newcomers’ Race in the 2018 MGP. However, he did record a 119mph in the Senior Race on a borrowed; unfamiliar bike; after very limited practice time. He has since won 2 Lightweight MGPs and become the fastest Irish rider around the Mountain Course. Last year he took his first TT podium with 2nd in the first Supertwin Race and led the second race before retiring. Another podium is certainly a possibility; if he can secure a competitive machine.
Victor Lopez Santos won last year’s Junior MGP (for Supertwins); the fist Spanish rider to win an MGP. His machine has yet to be announced for his TT debut. Joe Yeardsley’s rise has been phenomenal. Two years into his road racing career he has won at the Pre-TT Classic races; after a superb due with Jamie Coward. He led the Junior MGP until the machine cried enough. He then won the Senior MGP (his father won it 1985) setting a new outright lap record for the event. He will have the Team ILR / Frog Developments Paton at his disposal for these races. He has many wise old heads to guide him. He is a supremely talented young man and I expect that he will break the 120mph barrier in this class and secure a finish within the top 10.
Joey Thompson made a steady return to the TT last year. He has ample talent and if he can secure a competitive machine could achieve the results that his early races suggested that he could produce; he is a dark horse. Barry Furber is another of the rising stars of the event; with the Yamaha R7 having had a year’s development he could easily run in the top 10; as last year. James Hind is another who burst onto the scene. He won an MGP double that could have been four timer but for machine failure. He is very rapid; especially in the smaller classes. His machine for this class has not been announced as yet; if it is a top machine, he could be on the fringes of the top 6. Local double MGP winner Mikey Evans completes the seeds. 11th and 7th in the class last year; he has switched from Aprilia to tried and tested Kawasaki power for this year. A top 10 finish is very much within reach for this talented rider.
Other to look out for include Marcus Simpson, Paul Cassidy, Indy Dokoupil, Franceso Curinga and Gareth Arnold.
