2025 Isle of Man TT riders and teams

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 on a yet to be confirmed machine.

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