Josh Daley to make Isle of Man TT debut

BRITISH Championship rider Josh Daley is to take on the 2016 Isle of Man TT races in both Monster Energy Supersport races.

The 19-year-old from Wigan is the latest British Championship rider to commit the famous TT races on which he’ll race his regular Kawasaki ZX-6R in the two four-lap races with the intention of learning the Mountain Course to become a regular in the future. 

Speaking about his TT debut, the 19-year-old commented: ‘Racing at the TT has been on my mind for a while and I want to give myself the chance of the best possible preparation by focusing just on the Supersport bike in my first year.  There are so many challenges to racing on the Mountain Course for the first time that just running one bike will let me focus on learning and understanding the course properly.’ 

Daley has been riding motorcycles since 2004 and competed in the British Minimoto 4.2 Championship going on to finish second overall for three successive years before winning in 2007.

Thundersport Aprilia Superteen Championship was next on the agenda for Daley in 2009where he finished 13th overall and fourth best newcomer. He improved over the years and in 2010 he finished fourth overall which allowed him to move up to GP2 and the 400cc classes in 2011.

After winning both the F400 and Open Aintree Championships and taking second in the Thundersport GP2, Daley then competed in the same Championships in 2012, winning the F400 series and claiming second overall in the Open 500 and Open 650.

Having conquered the club-racing scene, Daley made the step up to the Pirelli National Superstock 600cc Championship in 2013, scoring his first points at Brands Hatch.

Immediately moving up to the Supersport class in 2014, the Wigan rider contested the inaugural Evo Championship, and it was an unqualified success as he took an excellent eighth overall in the final reckoning, also taking his first podium at Brands Hatch.

It was more of the same for Daley in 2015 as he took tenth place in the Evo Championship with another podium, at Cadwell Park, and scoring points in the main Championship with a best finish of 11th at Snetterton.

The 2016 Isle of Man TT is set to take place from 28th May – 10th June.