Former European road racing Superbike champion David Datzer eyes Cookstown 100 debut on Isle of Man TT comeback path after serious injuries marred 2025 season
Top European road racer David Datzer hopes to make his debut at the Cookstown 100 next month as part of his preparations for the Isle of Man TT.
Datzer, the 2025 IRRC Superbike champion, will ride for the Roadhouse Macau Racing team in 2026 with Irishman Brian McCormack on BMW M1000RR and Triumph 765 machinery.
The German rider was due to compete under the Macau Roadhouse banner last year but Datzer was seriously injured last year in a crash during the Stare Mesto road races in the Czech Republic, when he was hit in the back by another competitor’s machine.
Datzer made a successful return at the end of last season, including finishing third on the podium in the final IRRC Superbike race of the year at Frohburg in Germany.
The two-time Macau Grand Prix podium finisher is still not fully recovered from the back injuries he sustained, but Datzer hopes to begin his 2026 road racing season at the first Irish road race of the year at Cookstown in Co Tyrone from April 24-25.
“My racing plan this year is to ride with Roadhouse Macau and Brian McCormack, and I’m really happy to get the bike back for this season,” Datzer told the Startline Podcast.
“He trusted me and is really a good guy, and the plan for us is to go to the Cookstown 100 – this was a dream four years ago; TT is the plan, Macau, and for me a little dream is to go to New Zealand for the Suzuki series, but first really I have all sorted to go to the TT, hopefully fit, and make a 130mph lap – this is my dream and then we will see what we do next.”
Reflecting on the accident that curtailed his season last year, Datzer revealed he is still in pain and has “a lot of problems” with his back.
“The crash was not my fault, I had no problems in my head to understand what happened now. In the hospital, it was really hard to understand what happened and what happens next,” he said.
“I never gave up and I told people when I’m fit enough I go back on a bike to test before the new season [and decide] if I am ready to ride a bike again, or if I have to stop.
“Last year, after six months of rehab and recovery, I come back on a bike and I win my first race, and this was for me a big milestone. I’m happy to be here on my feet and also back on a bike.
“I have a lot of problems with my back, nine vertebrae are completely screwed, and I also have pain inside, and the muscles are not so good this time. But I work on it and I hope I’m fit enough for the TT.”