Peter Hickman set to reveal Isle of Man TT plans

A number of big announcements are planned on Tuesday as the official launch of the 2019 Isle of Man TT races takes place at the Villa Marina in Douglas.
Peter HickmanPeter Hickman
Peter Hickman

A host of road racing’s top names are beginning to arrive on the island along with leading media representatives, industry personnel and event sponsors for three days of photo shoots, TV work and interviews.

This year’s TT start numbers will be confirmed, plus a number of rider and team announcements are also planned involving John McGuinness, Peter Hickman and Davey Todd.

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The launch party will be held at the iconic Villa Marina this evening featuring many of the sport’s biggest stars including McGuinness, Hickman, Michael Dunlop, Dean Harrison, Ian Hutchinson, James Hillier, Michael Rutter, Conor Cummins, Lee Johnston, Gary Johnson, Dave Johnson, Derek McGee and last year’s top newcomer Davey Todd.

Mullingar man McGee, who finished as the runner-up behind Michael Dunlop on Ryan Farquhar’s KMR Kawasaki in the Lightweight race, is aiming to go one better in June.

On Monday, McGee – who will also ride the N.J. Doyne McGee Racing Kawasaki and B&W/Keever Kawasaki Supersport machine – told the News Letter: “To come back last year after missing a year in 2017 and stand on the podium was something I dreamed of doing.

“Fair play to Ryan (Farquhar) because he gave me a great bike that gave me every chance of being on the podium.

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“I’m really looking forward to being back this year with Ryan because we know each other better and hopefully I can challenge for the podium again.

“Ryan is always trying to get that bit more out of the bike and he has been working with the chassis and the engine over the winter, so the bike should be a bit stronger for us on the straight,” he added.

“I just want to progress from what we did last year and I think we jumped up about 3mph from the previous time I was at the TT, so I just want to aim for the top ten again and it’s the same with the big bike.

“We only finished the Superbike race last year because we had different problems in the Superstock and Senior races, so we just want try and progress a bit this year.”

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ITV4’s TT presenters Matt Roberts and two-time race winner Steve Plater will conduct the interviews on stage.

Ben and Tom Birchall and Dave Molyneux and new passenger Harry Payne will represent the Sidecar class during the chat show, which will be streamed live on the official Isle of Man TT Races website at www.iomttraces.com from 8pm.