Conor Cummins 'really up for the challenge' at Isle of Man TT as new Conrod Racing team 'starting to come together'
Conor Cummins says he is “really up for the challenge” of running his own team in 2026.
The Manx rider launched Conrod Motorsport in November as he embarks on a new venture this year, when the 39-year-old will ride under his own banner for the first time in his 20-year Isle of Man TT career.
Cummins rode for Northern Ireland team Burrows Engineering/RK Racing in 2025 and recorded the Dungannon outfit’s fastest TT lap at 131.5mph on a BMW M1000RR, finishing sixth and fifth in the Superstock races respectively.
He remains the sixth fastest rider ever around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course after clocking a speed of 133.116mph in the Superstock class at the TT in 2022.
The Ramsey man is taking on the extra commitment of competing for his own team, but Cummins believes his experience of running his own business, Conrod Coffee, will stand him in good stead for the challenges ahead.
Cummins recently collected a BMW M1000RR from Isle of Man Motorcycles and in an update on his plans, he said his desire to fight for his maiden TT success has not waned.
“The want to win is still there, I’ve just got the additional obstacles of co-ordinating the whole thing,” Cummins told Manx Radio.
“I’m sort of used to that as well because I run my own business with Conrod Coffee, so making things happen and overcoming a bit of adversity is part of the job really.
“I’m up for it, I’m up for the challenge, and I’m very much focused on making it a thing for the future – it’s not a flash in the pan exercise, this is something to build for the future.”
Cummins said his plans were beginning to gather momentum, although money, as he had anticipated, is the biggest factor as he attempts to get his team off the ground.
“TT 2026 is looking good, I’m running my own team, Conrod Motorsport, so we’re in the early stages of building a race bike now, so it’s all starting to come together,” he added. “It’s all coming down to money, as I said from the get-go, but that’s just life.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way and I’m just confident that it’s all going to come together and I’ll be on the grid at TT 2026 giving my best shot.
“It’s definitely bringing a different thing to the part and I have to think of it differently, but the overriding goal is getting to the grid and being competitive.”
The TT continues to go from strength to strength and Cummins believes those associated with the event, whether as competitors, teams or otherwise, would “only benefit”.
“The trajectory of the TT is skyward, it’s such a strong event. There’s so much positivity around the event and it’s the best motorsport event in the world in my opinion,” he said.
“Anything associated with it or anyone associated with it, is only going to benefit from it.”
The 2026 Isle of Man TT takes place from May 25 to June 6.