Davey Todd and Burrows Engineering/RK Racing join forces in one-off deal for Macau Grand Prix

The 28-year-old will ride a BMW M1000RR at the famous event in southern China, which is back with a full-strength programme in its 70th anniversary year after Covid-19 restrictions were relaxed in January.

Todd, from Saltburn in North Yorkshire, signed with Burrows’ team in 2018 after making his Irish road racing debut the previous year at the Skerries 100.

He grasped the chance with both hands, marking himself out as a rider with a bright future after earning the top newcomer award at the North West 200, Isle of Man TT and Southern 100.

Then aged 22, Todd became the second fastest TT newcomer at the time behind Peter Hickman, lapping at 128.379mph on his way to ninth place in the blue riband Senior on the Burrows Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000.

He parted company from Burrows ahead of the 2019 season, but Todd says he was always hoping for the right opportunity to rekindle his association with the Dungannon-based outfit.

The 2022 National Superstock 1000 champion has signed for Moneymore’s TAS Racing team to ride a Milwaukee BMW in 2024, but Todd has been granted permission to race for Burrows in the 55th edition of the Macau Motorcycle GP (November 16-18).

“Me and John have been really good friends since we parted ways in 2019 and we always talked about doing something again whenever the opportunity arose,” said Todd.

“It just so happens that with my new team and my new collaboration with BMW and TAS – and John already having a collaboration and support from TAS this year – it was an ideal scenario for me, with TAS not being able to go to Macau.

“I’ve always wanted to be back with John, and I think it works well with the TAS team as well. They will still be supporting us and I’ll do all I can to make sure I’m riding something as close as possible to my usual bike,” he added.

“I really enjoy racing in Macau and no matter what people say about it being an end-of-season holiday race, it’s a race nonetheless and if I was racing in my own backyard I’d still want to win!

“I’m competitive and I want to do as well as I can for the team and myself.”

Todd made his debut at Macau in 2018, finishing ninth on a Penz BMW S1000RR. He claimed fourth at the 3.8-mile Guia course on his second visit in 2019 – again riding a Penz BMW – when the race was controversially declared a result after only one lap following a second red-flag stoppage.

Todd has not raced at Macau since after the race was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, while most of the leading names sat out the event last year as prohibitive quarantine measures remained in place.

Team owner Burrows, who is set to announce his plans for 2024 in the coming weeks after the departure of Cork’s Mike Browne, said the deal with Todd had boosted morale in the team.

“I’m delighted to have Davey back on board again for the Macau Grand Prix next month,” he said.

“We know what happened in recent weeks with losing a rider from the team, so to get the call from Davey asking if we could do something together at Macau gave me some confidence and reassurance that a rider like Davey – who has won races at the North West and who’s been on the podium at the TT – is prepared to put his faith in us as a team.

“We had great times together in 2018 and I would go as far as saying we brought Davey to the forefront and let people see what this young talent could do.

“He certainly has a good pace in Macau and if everything goes right and Davey clicks with the bike, there’s no reason why he can’t challenge for the podium,” Burrows added.

“I have to pass on my thanks to Philip Neill at TAS Racing for allowing Davey to compete at this event with ourselves.”

The 70th anniversary Macau Grand Prix runs from November 11-12 and 16-19 and features the return of the FIA Formula 3 and GT World Cup car races for the first time since 2019.

Entries for the 55th edition of the motorcycle race on Saturday, November 18, are set to be announced soon.