Rising star Davey Todd covets flying start to 2019 road racing season

The exciting road racing prospect became the fastest newcomer around the ‘Triangle’ course in 2018 after lapping at 119.3mph on his debut.

Further eye-catching results followed during a dream season for the 23-year-old, including a sensational top-ten finish in the Senior TT and a 127.8mph lap of the Mountain Course.

Todd has switched to BMW power with the German-based Penz13.com team this year after riding 1000cc Suzuki machinery for John Burrows in 2018.

He intends to compete in the opening rounds of the British Superstock 1000 Championship as well as the International Road Racing Championship (IRRC), which will give Todd plenty of bike time ahead of the 90th anniversary North West 200.

“I rode the Penz BMW for the first time at the IRRC round at Frohburg last year and got on with the bike straight away to be honest,” Todd said.

“I was given the opportunity to ride the bike at Macau and I really enjoyed the event. I clicked with the team and I looked at what I needed to move on now.

“You see other racers doing short circuit racing and I thought that was the way for me to try and move forward and progress.

“This gives me the opportunity to do that and I’ll do a few British championship rounds along with the North West 200, Isle of Man TT and Ulster Grand Prix. The IRRC includes a round in Germany at Frohburg, two in the Czech Republic and one in Holland [Hengelo], which is actually the weekend before the North West, so it will be a busy time for the guys.”

Todd faces a race against the clock to prepare for opening practice at the North West on Tuesday, May 14, with the team set to compete in the IRRC round at Hengelo in the Netherlands on the Sunday prior to race week on the north coast.

“We’ll finish racing on the Sunday and then we’ll need to get over here as quick as we can to be ready in time for first practice at the North West,” he said.

“It’s great for me because I’ll have a lot of time on the bike, which is the most important thing. It’s perfect for me and I’ll hit the ground running at the North West.”

Looking ahead to 2019, the Saltburn-by-the-Sea rider has shied away from making any bold predictions, other than citing further progress as his main aim.

“It’s really tough to say and everyone wants to do well and be at the front,” he said.

“I really don’t know what to expect and last year it was great to be knocking on the door of the top ten, so I hope I can keep moving forward and progressing.

“You don’t know where you will end up on the day but I know the BMW is a really quick bike and this year we’ll have a Superstock engine as well as a Superbike motor, so that will definitely help out."