Ian Hutchinson links up with TAS BMW for 2022 Isle of Man TT tilt
Ian Hutchinson announces he will be present for the 2022 Isle of Man TT with a deal that sees him return to the Milwaukee-backed TAS Racing BMW team
Ian Hutchinson will belatedly mark a ‘decade’ since his record-breaking five victories on a single Isle of Man TT event by returning to action in 2022 with TAS Racing BMW.
The fifth most successful rider in history to have competed at the TT with 16 career victories, Hutchinson is also noted in the record books for his quintet of successes on the 2010 Isle of Man TT aboard Honda machinery.
With COVID-19 scuppering the chance to mark that milestone a decade on in both 2020 and 2021, Hutchinson will nonetheless be present and correct for the 2022 Isle of Man TT aboard a Milwaukee-sponsored BMW M 1000 RR prepared by TAS Racing.
In a career greatly hampered by a series of serious injuries that have hampered his progress ever since, Hutchinson has nonetheless gritted his teeth in the years since 2010 with notable showings on Yamaha, Kawasaki and BMW machinery.
The deal with TAS Racing - which competes as Synetiq BMW in BSB - sees him revive a partnership that saw him race with the team in 2016, winning the Superstock race, before triumphing in the Superstock and Superbike races in 2017. However, that same year a big crash that left him with a broken femur prevented him from challenging for Senior TT success.
“Coming back to the team, where I’ve enjoyed my most recent success at the TT was something I hoped would be possible throughout this winter and to hear the title sponsor is to be Milwaukee, really was the icing on the cake.
“Both TAS and Milwaukee have given me great success in the past, so I look forward to us all working together again in 2022.”
With erstwhile regulations all-but-assuring Hutchinson's record of five wins on the TT couldn't be bettered, a change in the practice times for 2022 means riders are now able to enter more races without exceeding daily track time limits.
As such, Hutchinson's record could be threatened by TT favourite Peter Hickman, who will enter six races - two Superbike and a Superstock races on a BMW, two Supersport races on a Triumph and aboard a Norton for the Lightweight class.
