Davey Todd claimed his first victory at the Isle of Man TT Races on Thursday afternoon, the Milwaukee BMW Motorrad rider edging out Peter Hickman (Monster Energy BMW by FHO Racing) in the RL360 Superstock TT Race 1 by just 2.2 seconds after a thrilling tussle. Michael Dunlop completed the podium with a third place finish on his MD Racing Honda.

With a 12.15pm start, Todd led at Glen Helen on the opening lap, his advantage over Dunlop 1.5 seconds with Hickman only a tenth of a second further back. Dean Harrison (Honda Racing) was well in touch, 0.3 seconds behind Hickman, with James Hillier (WTF Racing Honda) and Jamie Coward (KTS Racing powered by Steadplan Honda) rounding out the early leaderboard. Only two seconds covered the front four riders.

Todd’s lead was down to half a second as he jumped Ballaugh for the first time and it was Hickman now in second. Dunlop was third, almost two seconds down on Hickman, as Harrison, Hillier and Coward continued to run fourth to sixth.

Round Ramsey Hairpin for the first time and the gap remained half a second between the leading two riders but Harrison had now moved ahead of Dunlop for third albeit by only 0.02 seconds! It was close for fifth too as less than a second split Hillier and Coward in the battle for fifth.

There was little to choose between Todd and Hickman at the Bungalow with just 0.08 seconds between them as they were continuing to edge away from the chasing pack but with an opening lap of 133.362mph, it was Todd who led as they came in for their compulsory pit stop. Hickman (133.137mph) lost a bit of time from the Bungalow and was now 1.7 seconds adrift whilst Dunlop (132.639mph) was back in third, just a second ahead of Harrison (132.517mph).

Coward had now taken over fifth from Hillier as Josh Brookes on the second FHO Racing machine, Conor Cummins (Milenco by Padgett’s Motorcycles Honda), Mike Browne (IN Competition Aprilia) and John McGuinness (Honda Racing UK) rounded out the top ten.

With a quicker pit stop, Todd was almost five seconds clear as he reached Glen Helen on the second lap with Dunlop having also pulled clear of Harrison in the battle for third, the gap now 3.8 seconds. Hillier and McGuinness were now in fifth and sixth although Coward was clearly having transponder issues as he was still running with McGuinness on the road. Brookes lost almost a minute in the pits though and slipped back to 16th.

Hickman took almost two seconds out of Todd’s lead on the high-speed run to Ballaugh and it was 2.4 seconds through Ramsey for the second time but James Hind (North Lincs Components Suzuki) was out of luck again retiring from 14th at Greeba Bridge. Fellow Suzuki rider Michael Evans was also out, the Manxman having stopped at Union Mills.

The lead had further reduced at the Bungalow at 2.1 seconds but as they started the third and final lap, Todd had added another four tenths of a second to his lead. It looked to be a two-horse race as Dunlop was now more than seven seconds adrift in third. He in turn was more than four seconds clear of fellow Honda rider Harrison.

The lead was back down to 2.3 seconds through Glen Helen for the final time and by Ballaugh, it was very much ‘game on’ as Hickman had closed to within half a second with only half a lap remaining!

Todd responded on the run to Ramsey though and doubled his advantage with just the final run up and with the Mountain to go and the gap remained the same at the Bungalow as Todd and Hickman set almost identical sector times from Ramsey Hairpin.

However, Todd was quicker from the Bungalow to Cronk Ny Mona, and he got the verdict from Hickman by 2.2 seconds, who set the fastest lap of the race at 135.140mph, with Dunlop a comfortable third, almost 18 seconds behind. Harrison was only 3.6 seconds adrift at the chequered flag as fellow Honda riders Hillier and Coward took strong fifth and sixth place finishes.

McGuinness, Cummins, Dominic Herbertson (Burrows Engineering/RK Racing BMW) and Browne completed the top ten with Brookes taking 11th after Nathan Harrison on the third Honda Racing machine unfortunately retired at Kate’s Cottage on the final lap.

Davey Todd will take to the two Monster Energy Supersport Races on board a Ducati Panigale V2, riding the exotic Italian machine under the banner of Powertoolmate at the 2024 Isle of Man TT Races.

Having dominated in the 2023 British and World Supersport Championships, the Panigale V2 is seemingly the current machine of choice in the category, but it remains an unknown quantity around the TT Course.

In fact, despite decades of short-circuit success, the famous marque has taken only 8 TT wins in their history, with the most recent victory for their iconic range of V-twin machinery coming in 1985 courtesy of Tony Rutter.

Nevertheless, Todd, who will enjoy support from TAS Racing and have the highly-experienced and respected Stewart Johnstone as Crew Chief and Team Principal, will undoubtedly come to the TT as one of the favourites for honours in the two Supersport Races.

Indeed, Todd’s form in the class is considerable having taken a brace of fourths and a fifth in the most recent Supersport Races, recording a best lap of 128.699mph in 2023 that places him as the fourth quickest rider ever in the category, bettered only by Michael Dunlop, Peter Hickman and Dean Harrison.

Davey Todd: “It’s a pretty trick piece of kit, and there’s certainly no better looking Supersport machine on the grid!”

“Looks are one thing, but the pedigree of the V2 is unquestionable, winning pretty much everything in 2023. The TT throws up a different challenge for sure, but with support from TAS [Racing] and Stewart [Johnstone] leading the team, I’m really excited about going down Bray Hill on the bike.”

Stewart Johnstone, Powertoolmate Ducati Team Principal: “I must admit, from an engineering perspective and also leading this effort, I’m looking forward to the challenge of taking an iconic brand and partner back to the TT, in what I think can be regarded as the most competitive category at the event. And on a personal level, I hope to rekindle the previous successes I’ve enjoyed with Ducati.”

Wayne Cox, Powertoolmate Managing Director: “We’re delighted to be the headline partner of this very exciting collaboration. The TT is undoubtedly the jewel in the road racing crown – so to have such an exciting combination of bike and rider is something we are all looking forward to being involved in. The TT was my first experience of pure road racing and to go back as a headline sponsor is a dream come true.”

TODD JOINS MILWAUKEE BMW MOTORRAD FOR TT 2024

Milwaukee BMW Motorrad have confirmed that Davey Todd will line up for the team for the 2024 Isle of Man TT Races, riding the M 1000 RR in the RST Superbike, RL360 Superstock, and Milwaukee Senior Races.

Todd, who is widely-regarded as one of the TT’s brightest prospects, makes the move after two years with the Padgett’s Motorcycles team with whom he took a first TT podium in the 2022 Superstock Race and won last year’s British National Superstock Championship.

The 27-year-old was unable to add to his podium tally at TT 2023, but he did improve his personal best lap speed to an average of 132.982mph, making him the 6th fastest ever person to lap the TT Mountain Course.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee BMW Motorrad – run by the TAS Racing team synonymous with the TT – were absent from the paddock for the first time in 23 years this year, as Ian Hutchinson’s racing licence was revoked as standard protocol folllowing a stroke at the start of the year.

Speaking of the news, Philip Neill, Milwaukee BMW Motorrad Team Principal, said: “We’re really pleased to welcome Davey in to the team. I don’t think we’re alone in saying we’ve had our eye on him since his very impressive first TT, so we’re thrilled to have him on board. He’s clearly a very talented racer and we know that we can put him on bikes capable of showcasing that talent.”

Having supported riders from as early as the 1970s, the TAS Racing team as we know it today first debuted in 2000 and has gone on to take a total of 18 TT race victories and 44 podiums, making them one of the most successful teams ever around the Mountain Course.

Todd now joins an illustrious list of names to have ridden for the Northern Irish team which includes Ian Lougher, David Jefferies, Adrian Archibald, Bruce Anstey, Cameron Donald, Guy Martin, William Dunlop, Conor Cummins, Josh Brookes, Ian Hutchinson, and Michael Dunlop.

Whilst the TT is still some 9 months away, the early announcement gives Todd the opportunity to contest the final two rounds of the British Superbike Championship season with the team, and he is also set to make an appearance with the factory BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team before the end of the season.

Davey Todd: “This is a massive opportunity for me and I really can’t wait to get started! Peter [Hickman] has shown how strong the BMW package is around the TT. Obviously he’s the man to beat, but he was regularly hitting over 200mph through the speed trap and the bike was staying rock solid and stable, which is exactly what you need to get the best lap times around there.”

“It’s great that we can get started before the end of this season as the switch from Honda is quite a big one to adjust to, and there’s also going to be some other really cool opportunities for me ahead of the TT, too, so it’s all a properly exciting time for me.”

“I want to say a big thanks to Philip, Hector, and the whole team for bringing me on board, and also to say another big thanks to Clive [Padgett] for the last few years and his continued support.”

Davey Todd wins the Senior race at the IoM TT 2024 on the Milwaukee BMW Motorrad – run by the TAS Racing team.