2025 Isle of Man TT riders and teams

Marcus Simpson joins WH Racing in two-year deal

Updated: Friday 24^th January. Isle of Man TT rising star Marcus Simpson has penned a two-year contract with WH Racing to compete in the big bike categories.

The 26-year-old Manxman, who finished runner up to Joe Yeardsley in the 2023 Senior Manx Grand Prix, will contest a Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP in what will be his second year at the TT. The highlight of his debut TT fortnight came in the Superbike TT where he finished 12^th and lapped at 125.918mph on his privateer Honda Fireblade.

“Last year’s TT was challenging to say the least,” said Simpson, who finished 21^st with further 125mph laps in the Superstock TT and earned a third bronze replica in the opening Supersport TT. “It didn’t pan out as I would have liked, although if I’d have been offered 12^th place and a near 126mph lap in the Superbike race at the beginning of the fortnight, I’d have snapped your hand off.

“I definitely learned a lot last year in terms of what to do and what not to do both on track and off track and it tested me for sure. But I’m more experienced now and this two-year deal means there’s no pressure on me so I can go out and enjoy myself and if I do that, the results will take care of themselves.

“I know the Fireblade inside out and I think I’ll be in a better position if I just concentrate on what I know, giving me plenty of track time to build on the last two years and continue to improve because I know there’s plenty more to come.”

Simpson follows in the footsteps of previous WH Racing riders Dominic Herbertson and Julian Trummer, and will embark on a pre-season testing schedule in Spain. The team will then embark on a full roads season alongside the TT including entries at the North West 200, Tandragee 100, Southern 100, Armoy Road Races and the Macau Grand Prix.

Alongside the 1000cc classes, Simpson will also ride a Kawasaki ZS650 in the two Supertwin races.

Joey Thompson moves teams for 2025

Updated: Friday 24^th January. Joey Thompson will return for his sixth Isle of Man TT campaign in 2025, moving to a Suzuki GSX-R1000 for the 1000cc categories.

The 27-year-old will race for Team Talk of the Town York Suzuki by Motul Oils in the Superbike, Senior and Superstock TTs, taking over the motorcycle that Shaun Anderson rode to an impressive eighth in last year’s Senior TT. He will also compete in the Supersport TT races aboard a Yamaha YZF-R6 for his own Seventy Four Racing team.

Thompson first competed at the TT in 2017 aged just 19, but it would not be until the event returned from its Covid-enforced break that he would first ride a 1000cc around the 37 and ¾ mile Mountain Course.

Having set a new personal best lap in 2024 of 125.415mph and a best result of 23^rd, the Yorkshireman is eyeing faster laps and higher finishing positions with his new outfit in 2025.

“I’m delighted to have joined Team York Suzuki and am really looking forward to riding their Suzuki GSX-R1000 at this year’s TT,” said Thompson. “My 125mph+ lap at last year’s TT came after I overshot at Parliament Square, so had it not been for losing that time, I would have been a fair bit quicker. I don’t like putting numbers on it, but I’d like to add a couple of mph to my speeds and if we can get into the 127mph bracket, I’ll be happy.”

“We’re very excited to have signed Joey for the 2025 Isle of Man TT Races,” added team owner Kev Pearson. “Ever since the inception of the Team York Suzuki brand it was centred around York and Yorkshire - the only thing missing was a local rider!

“There’s never been a rider of the level required, but with Joey we now have our man. He’s very accomplished, very focused, experienced and with results to boot. We’re overjoyed to be part of his continued journey; our sponsors are keen to be involved, and we can’t wait to get there.”

Josh Brookes leads Jackson Racing effort

Updated: Thursday 23^rd January. Josh Brookes will return to the Isle of Man TT in 2025 aboard a Honda as he moves across to lead the Jackson Racing by Prosper2 stable alongside Paul Jordan.

Brookes’ move comes off the back of his best TT performance to date, finishing in second place aboard the FHO Racing BMW M1000RR in last year’s Senior TT. On his way to the podium he lapped at 134.056mph, stamping his place as the fifth fastest rider ever around the Snaefell Mountain Course. 

Since his return to the TT in 2023, Brookes has taken no fewer than six top-six finishes. The switch to Honda machinery is in line with the Australian’s switch to DAO Racing Honda for the British Superbike Championship in 2025.

“With racing a Honda in BSB this season, I wanted to keep that continuity at the roads as well and whilst I had a few options, I’ve ridden with Alan and his team before and I've been in touch with him quite a bit with the bike I’ve built and been riding in Australia,” said Brookes, who competed for Jackson Racing in 2017, finishing 11^th in that year’s only Supersport race.

“The team have got good bikes and equipment and are very eager to make the right steps to not only give me the best but also the whole team. I think that's quite important, and it gives me confidence that they’re motivated to keep pushing forward, so it seemed like the right move.”

Both Brookes and Jordan, who competed with Jackson Racing in 2024, will contest the Superbike, Senior, Superstock and Supersport races. The CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP will be contested in the 1000cc categories, while the CBR600RR will be ridden in the two Supersport TTs.

Jordan enjoyed his best year to date at the Isle of Man TT in 2024, improving his best lap times aboard Jackson Racing bikes in Superbike, Superstock and Supersport categories. His best results came in the two Supersport races, finishing in seventh and eighth, while tenth in the Senior was also a highlight.

“After a good first season together, it feels great to be continuing with Jackson Racing for 2025,” said Jordan. “There’s nothing I would change with the team set-up – the atmosphere is brilliant. There’s a lot of experience in the team and that combined with the machinery and my own performance helped us have a strong TT 2024. At the same time, I know there’s room for improvement and I want to keep moving forward and edge ever closer to the front runners.”

Team owner Alan Jackson added: “We’re delighted to have signed Josh and Paul for the 2025 season and it’s without doubt our strongest ever team.

“Josh brings such a wealth of experience with him and his performances at the TT speak for themselves; he’s one of the very best. To have someone of his stature in the team is superb and we’re confident that we can give him the package to achieve similar results to those he’s already gained and hopefully improve further.

“We only have positives to say about our time together with Paul so far and through having built a good relationship in 2024, he improved his results and personal bests at every circuit we went to and as a team manager you can’t ask for more than that. We know we can collectively improve in 2025, and that must be the aim.”

Todd reunites with Padgett’s Motorcycles for Supersport and Supertwins

Updated: Wednesday 15^th January. Davey Todd will compete in the Supersport and Supertwin races at the 2025 Isle of Man TT, reuniting with Clive Padgett’s Batley-based team, Padgett’s Motorcycles.

Already confirmed to be riding a BMW in an FHO Racing super team alongside Peter Hickman, Todd will ride a brand-new Honda CBR600RR in the two Supersport races, as well as a Paton in the Supertwin races. The latter will be the first time that Padgett’s have competed in the Supertwin category.

Todd previously competed with Padgett’s from 2019 to 2023 where he first began to turn heads as a future star of the TT, including taking his first podium around the Snaefell Mountain Course in the 2022 Superstock TT. The North Yorkshire native left Padgett’s in 2024 and went on to achieve his best year to date, taking wins aboard a BMW M1000RR in the Superstock race as well as the event-closing blue riband Senior TT.

The 2024 TT fortnight saw Todd take a pair of podiums aboard a Ducati in the Supersport category, the first time a Ducati scored a podium result at the TT since John McGuinness took second and third respectively in the 2003 Formula One and Senior TT races. Todd also enjoyed his best results in the Supertwin category, taking the Dafabet Racing Kawasaki Z650 to two sixth place finishes.

“I’m super excited to be joining forces with the Padgett’s team again, back with the team I know and love from the last few years when we did some great things together,” said Todd. “I know that the CBR has improved a little bit more since I last rode it and that the team have improved the bike further themselves so I’m really excited to get back out on it, whilst the Paton has proven to be the bike to be on recently in the Supertwin class.”

Lee Johnston to sit out another TT

Updated: Monday 6^th January. Fan favourite Lee Johnston has confirmed that he will miss another TT fortnight as he focuses on the 2025 British Supersport Championship instead. 

The 35-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries in 2023 when competing at the North West 200 and has not raced on the roads since. A planned return in 2024 ended when he suffered a broken leg in pre-season testing. Johnston was keen to stress, however, that the decision had nothing to do with the crashes or injuries, and instead was simply the team’s decision to not take part in the 2025 road racing season.

"[Road racing] is something I have loved for a long time," said Johnston. "I was hard. I have two or three people quite close to me and I regard their thoughts as important. We weighed up the pros and cons, but you have to be going for the right reason.

“In my head I don't think it makes a difference if you miss one year or three," Johnston added. "When you do go back you have to have everything correct, which is the reason we're not doing that. I know how hard it is to win with a good team. I've no interest in going for the sake of going. I think it would upset me more going and riding but not being competitive, than not riding at all."

A five-time winner at the North West 200, as well as taking Supersport honours at the 2019 Isle of Man TT, Johnston has also enjoyed success in the British Supersport Championship, and was in the fight for the overall crown at the time of his incident. 

Conor Cummins to ride Ducati in Supersport TT

Updated: Monday 6^th January. Burrows Engineering have confirmed its choice of machinery for the Supersport TT at the 2025 TT Races, adding a Ducati Panigale V2 to the grid.

The team had previously announced that it would campaign BMWs in the ‘big bike’ categories with local hero Conor Cummins and an unconfirmed manufacturer in the Supersport category. The confirmation of the Ducati signals a departure from the Yamahas Burrows that recently run in the Supersport class.  

“I am really excited about riding the Ducati V2 next year,” said Cummins. “It will be the first time I’ve ridden a Ducati and it makes me excited for a couple of reasons. Ducati is an iconic brand within motorcycling and they always turn heads with how cool they look so that is one element.

“The second reason and the most important being that I think the Ducati will really benefit me in the way it rides. Coming from conventional 4-cylinder 600cc machines, I’ve felt that the initial punch off the turn is somewhere I’ve always been compromised because of my stature, but with the twin cylinder Ducati being very strong in the lower rev range I feel that will be a big benefit to my riding.

“Overall, together with the BMW M1000RR’s, I think John and the team have put a very capable package beneath me for next year and I’ll be ready to go come the start of the season.”

The Ducati has already enjoyed success at the TT, which Davey Todd taking the Panigale V2 to a pair of podium results in the two Supersport encounters at the 2024 TT fortnight.

David Johnson continues with Lee Hardy and Kawasaki

Updated: Thursday 21^st November. Australian fan favourite David ‘Davo’ Johnson will once again ride a works-backed Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR with Lee Hardy and Platinum Club Racing for 2025. The confirmation of the continuation of their deal will see the various parties team up for a second consecutive season.

Last year’s TT ended prematurely for Johnson and the Kawasaki squad, with the Australian crashing heavily at K Tree in the Superbike TT and having to be airlifted to Nobles Hospital.

Speaking shortly after the incident, Johnson said: “I had a brake fade issue just before the final lap so I backed the pace off to bring her home in a comfortable 8^th. Unfortunately, I had a very strange tank slapper at K Tree which I’ve never experienced before and I couldn’t recover it. I managed to roll off the side of the bike and go straight down the middle of the road. I’m battered and bruised and luckily only fractured my collarbone.”

Johnson will return to the saddle of the Kawasaki Ninja in the four 1000cc races across the 2025 TT fortnight – which includes both Superstock TTs, the Superbike TT and the event-closing Senior TT.

“I’m very happy to be continuing with Lee and the Platinum Club Racing Kawasaki team for a second season,” said Johnson, who will train on his own ZX-10RR at home in Australia before returning to Europe for pre-season testing.

“We learned a lot this year and there are many positives to take away from the TT. Before the incident we showed good pace and it was a given that there was more to come throughout the week. We will start off 2025 with a good set-up and we will build from there.”

His sentiments are echoed by team owner, Lee Hardy, who added: “As a team we have unfinished business at the Isle of Man TT, and I am looking forward to getting back there again as the Official Kawasaki Road Racing team in 2025.”

Davey Todd joins FHO Racing for BSB and Roads

Updated: Wednesday 13^th November. In one of the least surprising announcements in all motorcycle racing, Davey Todd will join Peter Hickman at the factory-supported FHO Racing BMW Motorrad at the 2025 Isle of Man TT Races.

The duo took three TT wins between them in 2024, and will pilot the newest edition of the M1000R in the Superbike, Superstock and Senior TT races. Todd will also step up to the British Superbike Championship with the team after his second British Superstock Championship victory in 2024.

“I’m absolutely over the moon to be joining the FHO Racing BMW Motorrad team for 2025 and really excited to be continuing with BMW,” said Todd, who rode for the Milwaukee BMW by TAS Racing team in 2024. “I loved riding the bike this year and to join one of the biggest teams in the paddock is going to be something I’m really looking forward to. Pete’s a good friend of mine so it’s going to be pretty cool to be his team-mate.”

Todd’s rise up the TT ranks has been nothing short of meteoric, winning the Newcomer’s Trophy in 2018 and becoming the third fastest rider in TT history with his 135.664mph lap in this year’s Superbike TT. Todd and Hickman are widely regarded as the top two riders on the roads, so for the two to sign up for the same team signals strong intent from Faye Ho’s FHO Racing. Todd also explained that the request came from the very top, with BMW wanting the pair in the same team.

They will get their first taste as teammates at this weekend’s Macau Grand Prix, where they will be joined by Macau legend Michael Rutter in a three-strong outfit around the Guia Circuit.

Honda Racing confirms two-rider line-up for 2025

Updated: Wednesday 13^th November. Honda Racing UK has confirmed it will return to a two-rider outfit for 2025, retaining the services of Dean Harrison and John McGuinness.

The legendary Honda squad will field a pair of Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SPs in the 1000cc categories for both riders, while Haririson will also contest the Supersport races aboard a CBR600RR.

The team is confident of a return to success in 2025 following Dean Harrison’s three podiums in 2024, as well as the hugely impressive speed shown by 23-time winner John McGuinness.

“Nothing makes me prouder than putting my Honda top on, riding for this team and representing the brand,” explained McGuinness. “I rode hard this year. Getting the opportunity to continue doing that for another year, I couldn’t be happier.”

“We have a year of development under our belt with all of our bikes,” added Harrison, himself a three-time winner around the Mountain Course. “I’m looking forward to getting on with the job and trying to win.”

While there is good news for one Harrison, the announcement also confirms there is no place for young Manxman Nathan Harrison (no relation), who leaves the team following his best ever result of seventh in the Senior TT. “Nathan has a bright future ahead of him,” commented Honda Racing UK Team Manager Havier Beltran. “I hope to be able to continue supporting him moving forward.” 

Joe Yeardsley confirms 2025 Road Racing programme

Updated: Friday, 1^st November. Following his Isle of Man TT debut in 2024, Joe Yeardsley will contest a full season for Scott Racing in the Supertwin category.

The move will see Yeardsley compete at the North West 200 for the first time, fresh of an eighth-place finish in the opening Supertwin race at the 2024 TT races. His continued rise in road racing follows a strong 2023 where he achieved podium results at both the Manx Grand Prix and Pre-TT Classic Road Races, as well as at the Cain Road Race in Mexico.

Yeardsley competed aboard a Paton in 2024 with Team ILR, but will switch to Aprilia machinery with Scott Racing in a deal that will also involve a full season of Irish national road races.

“Very happy to announce I’ll be riding for Scott Racing Motorcycles Ltd onboard their Aprilia Supertwin in 2025,” Yeardsley announced via social media. “Really excited to compete on the Irish roads calendar and the North West 200 for the first time, alongside the Isle of Man TT Races and Southern 100 road races. Big thanks to Trevor and the team for the opportunity and fingers crossed we can make some more progress next year.”

The announcement comes just three days after Michael Dunlop dubbed the national road racing scene as “finished,” with only the Cookstown 100, Armoy Road Races and Tandragee 100 scheduled for 2025. The latter is returning for the first time since 2022, while no road racing in the Republic of Ireland has been held since 2022 due to a sharp increase in insurance premiums since Covid.

Which classes are racing in the 2025 Isle of Man TT?

The 2025 Isle of Man TT will follow a similar format to the 2024 edition, with ten races spread across the first week in June. Four races will take place for 1,000cc machines, two for Superstock bikes and two for fully-fledged Superbikes. The latter includes the blue riband, event-closing Senior TT.

Smaller displacement motorcycles will compete for Supersport TT honours, with these closely resembling the road-going sportbikes you can expect to pass you on a dual carriageway. What used to be colloquially known as the ‘600’ class has seen changes to the regulations in recent years with most bikes now somewhere in the region of 600 and 750cc.

The final two-wheeled races will be contested by two-cylinder Supertwins, with engine sizes no greater than 700cc, while the ever-popular Sidecar TTs will complete the ten-race programme.

Who will be riding in the 2025 Isle of Man TT?

The first two riders to be officially confirmed for the 2025 TT races were Dominic Herbertson and James Hillier, with the former joining the WTF Racing squad that Hillier led in 2024. The pair will contest the Supersport, Superstock, Superbike and Senior TTs aboard Honda machinery.

Herbertson’s move to WTF Racing follows his strongest year at the TT to date, with the 33-year-old scoring his first ever TT podium finish in the first Supertwin race, having also set his fastest ever time around the 37.73-mile Snaefell Mountain Course in the Superstock class. The Durham-based rider, who will contest his 50^th TT next year, has tasted victory around the Isle of Man before, having won the 2018 Junior Classic TT on a 1972 Honda CB350.

James Hillier, meanwhile, returns to the WTF squad having enjoyed five top six finishes in 2024, including bookending his race week with a pair of fourths in the opening Supersport race and the Senior TT.

Filling the gap left by the departing Herbertson, Manxman Conor Cummins will move across to Burrows Engineering by RK Racing for the 2025 season. Cummins withdrew halfway through race week in 2024, with many speculating that he was going to be retiring with immediate effect. The 38-year-old has proven those rumours to be false, as he will ride a BMW M1000RR in the Superbike, Superstock and Senior TT races. Cummins will also race in the Supersport category.

The move to BMW signals the end of an era for Cummins, who has been mostly associated with Honda in his TT career. Having ridden for the works Honda team, Cummins has recently become known as one of the most constant fixtures within the Padgetts garage. He is currently the sixth fastest rider to ever lap around the TT course, and has 12 podium finishes to his name in 73 starts.

“I’ve obviously spent a lot of time on Honda machinery so the BMW will be a new challenge, but I’ve seen at close quarters just how strong a package it is,” said Cummins. “The machinery is going to be of the best quality and it’s a complete reset for me and a new chapter in my career.

“There’s no pressure from the team and John [Burrows, team owner] just wants me to enjoy riding his bike, but we both have goals we want to achieve as well. The results won’t be given to me, and we’ll need to work hard but getting back on the TT podium is where I want to be. The programme is all set, and I know where I’ll be riding and when so I’m really excited about our 2025 prospects.”

2025 Isle of Man TT riders and teams