Thomas Maxwell treating this year's Isle of Man TT as his 'proper debut' after washout in 2019

Maxwell missed the whole of last season through injury with a badly broken ankle following an incident in an Enduro race when he was struck by another competitor.

He made a strong comeback at the Cookstown 100 in April and was also on form at the Tandragee 100, opening a comfortable lead in the first Superbike race when the red flags brought the race to an abrupt halt.

A winner of the Newcomers A race at the Manx Grand Prix in 2018, Maxwell is set to compete in the Superbike, Superstock and Senior races at the TT on his Kawasaki ZX-10R and also has a 600 Honda at his disposal for the Supersport races.

The Republic of Ireland rider may also compete in the Supertwin class on a 650 Kawasaki provided by fellow Irish national road racer RJ Woolsey, with an engine prepared by former Lightweight TT winner Ryan Farquhar.

Maxwell missed the North West 200 because of work pressures and the financial cost of competing at the TT, but the Co Westmeath man faces a hectic few months ahead with a busy summer period of Irish national road racing and a trip to the Southern 100 for the first time ay Billown in July.

He runs his own effort with help from a few local backers, and Maxwell says additional support from a main sponsor for the TT would be invaluable.

“I couldn’t do the North West and we had to sit it out because you’re off for three weeks at the TT, so you’re away form work for a month really,” he said.

“It’s a huge effort and we do this off our own back, so it’s a big commitment financially and we appreciate every bit of help that we get. If anyone wanted to come on board for the TT it would be a massive help.

“It’d be great to have a main sponsor on board and I’ve a new truck and a great set-up, so we can offer sponsorship space on that for the TT if anyone was interested.

“I just want to get out on as many bikes as I can because this is really my first proper TT as the last one in 2019 was a bit of a washout really,” Maxwell added.

“I won the Manx before going to the TT and I’d really like to have a proper run at it this time.

“We just didn’t get hardly any practice done the last time but I had a good year at the Manx in 2018 and won the Newcomers’ race.

“If we can have some decent weather at the TT and get plenty of laps in, then that’s what we’re looking for really.”

Maxwell plans to compete in all the Irish national road races this season, when his goal is to challenge for the Superbike crown.

“After the TT, we’ve a lot of Irish nationals and I hope to do them all, and hopefully we can try and win the Superbike championship,” he said.

“We’ve got Kells the week after the TT, and I’m aiming to do the Post-TT races as well at Billown because I’m looking at going over to the Southern 100 for the first time in July.

“So it’s going to be hectic but I’m looking forward to getting stuck in and hopefully we can get a few decent results along the way.”