Michael Laverty's Isle of Man TT debut with MLav Racing Team 'something special' as Ian Hutchinson and Mike Browne spearhead challlenge
Michael Laverty says running a team at the Isle of Man TT will be “something special” as the former racer branches out into road racing for the first time with his MLav Racing Team.
Laverty has signed 16-time TT winner Ian Hutchinson and Irish prospect Mike Browne to ride BMW M1000RR machinery in the Superbike and Superstock classes at the event in June.
The Northern Ireland man, also a leading MotoGP pundit, is well known for running his team in the Moto3 World Championship and Junior categories, including the FIM Junior GP Championship and British Talent Cup, but the TT will be a new challenge for 10-time British Superbike race winner Laverty, who has always been a big supporter of the event.
“Anyone who knows me knows I’ve always loved the TT and even though I never raced the Mountain Course, it’s the pinnacle of our sport,” Laverty said.
“Plans for setting up a new team started with a casual conversation back in September and although initially, I was approached to assist a team, the more I thought about it the more it made sense to do it ourselves.
“My Grand Prix commitments keep me busy, and it’s taken me a bit longer to get everything boxed off in terms of sponsors, team personnel and infrastructure, but I spoke to a couple of riders, getting Hutchy signed up first and then Mike.
“The team’s been running for a few years now, but we only ever get to race in the UK once a year, at Silverstone, so it’s nice to be able to expand that and come to the TT.
“Philip Neill and everyone at TAS has been great with both advice and assistance right from day one and the technical support from them will continue with my regular GP team manager Nathan Smith overseeing things and Chris Anderson again working with Hutchy.”
Laverty is anticipating a testing maiden year in road racing but insists he is in it for the long haul.
“The first year will be challenging and I’d say we have modest ambitions for 2025, but we know what both riders are capable of and they’re both very driven,” he said.
“The long-term plan is to establish the team amongst the front runners for many years to come – the TT is a global show and to get to be part of that is something special.”
Hutchinson will ride BMW M1000RR Superbike and Superstock machines while Browne will rely on a Superstock-spec model for the 1000cc races.
Cork man Browne will also ride a Yamaha R6 Supersport machine for Northern Ireland team Boyce Precision Engineering by Russell Racing and a KMR Kawasaki Supertwin prepared by former TT winner Ryan Farquhar.
Hutchinson, who made history at the TT in 2010 with five victories in a week, will also ride in the Supersport races, with with his choice of machine yet to be confirmed.