Northern Ireland's Scott Racing team provides Manxman Joe Yeardsley with ex-Mike Browne Aprilia for Isle of Man TT return
Northern Ireland’s Scott Racing team is gearing up for the Isle of Man TT with Manxman Joe Yeardsley and French rider Julien Cregniot.
Yeardsley will ride the ex-Mike Browne Aprilia RSV4 in the Superbike, Superstock and Senior races and a Yamaha R6 in the Supersport class.
The 2023 Senior Manx Grand Prix winner and Cregniot will ride Aprilia RS660 machines in the Supertwin races.
Yeardsley, who is mentored by four-time TT winner Chris Palmer, is making the step up to the 1000cc classes for the first time after concentrating on the Supersport and Supertwin races in 2024 on his TT debut.
The up and coming Isle of Man rider finished 12th and 16th in the Supersport races last year and recorded a personal best lap of the Mountain Course at 123.268mph, despite carrying a hand injury.
Yeardsley said: “To be honest I have mixed feelings looking back on last year’s TT as a lack of track time both before the TT and during practice week meant I didn’t get as many laps as I would have liked, on top of the hand injury.”
In the Supertwin class, Yeardsley clinched an excellent eighth place in the first lap and set his fastest lap of 117.278mph.
“I didn’t make as much progress as I’d hoped in the Supertwin class where my lap times were pretty much the same as the Manx,” he said.
“Having said that, never in a million years did I think I’d take a top-ten finish in my first year at the TT, so I was over the moon with the result
“I was equally pleased with the 600cc results; a top 12 finish in the Supersport race is something to be proud of so those two classes will again be my main focus this year.
“I only started racing in 2021 and I’ve never ridden a big bike before anywhere so am aware there’s a steep learning curve ahead of me.
“The beauty though is that everyone knows that and there are no expectations, aims or hopes from anyone when it comes to the 1000cc races,” he added.
“It’s a project for all of us so it’s all about learning as much as I can this first year to put me in good stead for the years after.
“The Supersport and Supertwin races will be the ones where we hope to get some strong results again and we’ll take it as it comes on the big bike.
“With a good pre-season and plenty of meetings pencilled in though, I’ll be better prepared than ever for the TT so am confident of having a strong year.”
Cregniot is tackling the TT for the first time after some strong results in the IRRC Supersport Championship and at the 2024 Manx Grand Prix, where he made his debut in 2023.
Last year, the 31-year-old finished fourth in the Junior and Senior races at the Manx on the Team ILR machines, lapping at almost 117mph.