Dafabet Devitt Racing confirms Rob Hodson for international road races

Hodson will ride in the Superbike, Superstock, Supersport and Lightweight classes on Kawasaki machinery at the TT and will also contest the Southern 100 at Billown.

The 30-year-old will also have the chance to ride in a number of British championship rounds for the RC Express Racing-run team.

Hodson said: “An opportunity like this doesn’t come along every day so it goes without saying that I’m over the moon to have joined the Dafabet Devitt Racing team for 2020 and I’m really grateful for the faith they’ve shown in me.

“I’d like to think I’ve had some strong results so far in my career and believe the team can help me make further progress and improve both my results and speeds at all of the meetings. They have a history of doing similar with other riders so I’m more than hopeful of continuing that trend in 2020.

“I’ve been running my own team for the last few years so it will be a different experience for me to concentrate solely on my riding but one I’m really looking forward to with good results at the TT and Southern 100 both mine, and the team’s, main aim,” he added.

“It’s easy to see why the team have been successful as their preparation is second to none with all of the bikes immaculately turned out and there are so many positives about joining them.

“We’re looking to have a strong and enjoyable year and I’d also like to express my gratitude to my loyal sponsors who have been with me the last few years and fully support my plans for 2020.”

Hodson made his TT debut in 2016 and has since gone on to win 11 bronze replicas, with his best finish coming in 2018 when he took 14th in the Senior race and set his fastest lap of the Mountain Course at 126.274mph.

Team co-owner Roy Constable said he was confident the deal would enable Hodson to take the next step in his racing career.

“We’re delighted to welcome Rob to the team and we’re confident we can help him move to the next level on the road racing ladder, particularly in the Lightweight class where we know he’ll go well on our Kawasaki,” he said.

“He’s achieved plenty already with strong results at both the TT and Southern 100 and he’s shown plenty of potential to move even further up the leaderboard given the right opportunity.”

“He’ll be able to concentrate solely on his riding this year which should help him tremendously whilst he has a really good family behind him which fits in well with the ethos of our team. It promises to be a busy season and we’re heading to Spain next week to begin our testing campaign which will ensure we’re fully prepared for when the season gets underway. I’d also like to thank Dafabet and Devitt Insurance for their continued support along with all our other loyal sponsors.”

The RC Express Racing team has worked with a series of top riders in the past including Dean Harrison, Ivan Lintin, Steve Mercer, Jamie Coward and most recently Ulsterman Paul Jordan, who finished fourth in the Lightweight race at the TT last year.