Austrian rider Julian Trummer is confident he can take a big step forward this year at the Isle of Man TT after joining new Northern Ireland road racing team Lion Heart Moto Racing.

Legacy Resources have been unveiled as the title sponsor behind Bangor man Dwayne McCracken’s venture.

McCracken is well-known in the racing paddocks and has worked with top names in the past including John McGuinness and more recently Ulsterman Paul Jordan.

He received a devastating cancer diagnosis in June 2023 when he learned he had Stage 3 inoperable pancreatic cancer.

placeholder image — Julian Trummer with team owner Dwayne McCracken and title sponsors Legacy Resources

However, after extensive treatment McCracken has defied the doctors’ prognosis and is busy preparing for the team’s maiden road racing campaign.

Trummer, who rode for the Jackson Racing Honda squad last year, will ride a Kawasaki ZX-10RR in the Superbike and Superstock classes.

“I’m super excited,” he said. “Honestly, I can’t wait to get going, especially after last year, which was a bit of a bad one, so this one will be huge for all of us.

“We’re doing a bit of a shakedown weekend at Bishopscourt and Kirkistown (over Easter) and then our first official outing as a team will be at the Cookstown 100.

“I’ve never been on a Kawasaki and first I want to make sure I gel with the bike, but all the things I’ve heard about the bike it should hopefully suit my style.

“For me personally, the North West is not the one I’m really bothered about but of course you always want to do well, and I’d say at the North West it’d be great to have top tens.

“At the TT, I’d rather aim for top seven and last year I finished 11th in the Superbike race, so you always have to aim a bit higher.”

Trummer also has his sights set on breaking the 130mph barrier at the TT, which he feels is a must if he’s to push himself further up the leaderboard.

“I want to at least crack the 130mph lap at the TT which is the thing I have to do,” he added.

“I would have done a high 129mph lap last year but I kind of got held up by the yellow flag after David Johnson’s crash at the K-tree, so in my head I know I’m capable of doing 130mph.

“If I feel happy on the bike I think there’s more possible but I don’t want to speak about it, I just want to get on and do it but to do 130mph is what we have to do to improve for the future.”

The Lion Heart Moto Racing team is dedicated to raising vital funds for pancreatic cancer research, a cause of great importance to Legacy Resources founders Suzanne and Ricky Quirey, who recently lost a loved one to the disease.

Their company is a leading security and risk management firm who are coming into the sport for the first time.

The team will compete at all of the Irish road races this year, starting at April’s Cookstown 100.