Ian Hutchinson forced out of 2023 Isle of Man TT following stroke
Ian Hutchinson has had his racing licence revoked as a result of the stroke he suffered earlier in March, and is forced to miss this year's Isle of Man TT.
Ian Hutchinson has pulled out of the 2023 Isle of Man TT following the revocation of his racing licence by the ACU.
Hutchinson was a notable absence from the recently-released first-20 starters list for the 2023 Isle of Man TT Superbike-class races. The reason for his omission is fairly straightforward, since his racing licence has been temporarily revoked.
The reason for the ACU, the UK’s motorcycle racing governing body, revoking the licence of 16-time TT race winner Ian Hutchinson is for the rider’s recent stroke, which results in an automatic 12-month racing ban for the affected rider.
In a statement, the TAS Racing team for whom Hutchinson rode in 2022, and was set to ride for in 2023, said that “Ian’s day-to-day health is of paramount importance to all involved and while he is making a remarkable recovery, already given the all clear to drive his car – rules are rules and we must respect them.
“Ian is obviously bitterly disappointed after putting in the hard yards over the winter months, spinning many laps on a TAS Racing prepared Milwaukee BMW M 1000 RR Superstock specification machine in Spain.”
The TAS Racing team also confirmed that Hutchinson would still be in attendance at this year’s Isle of Man TT, and that the team itself will still compete at the once-again-possible 2023 North West 200, where they will field Alistair Seeley.
The withdrawal from the Isle of Man TT for TAS Racing means it will miss its first TT in 23 years, with exceptions made for the Covid years in 2020 and 2021.
TAS Racing Team Principal Phillip Neil said: “First and foremost our concerns are with Ian and we look forward to supporting him on his road to making a full recovery. Clearly we are disappointed to miss our first TT in 23 years - aside from the Covid years, of course.
“We now look forward to finalising our plans for the North West 200 and another British Superbike season.”
