David Johnson completes the NW200, next stop is the TT
David Johnson is the only Australian rider at this year’s North West 200 and takes part in the event for the first time since 2019. Davo also makes his debut for Lee Hardy’s Platinum Club Kawasaki Team; so it’s quite an interesting job.
Johnson and his new team arrived on the north coast of Northern Ireland with minimal time testing and two very new Ninja ZX-10RRs. But come Saturday night, they are satisfied with their week’s work and keep an eye on TT; Overall, it was a successful week.
After a 14th-place Superbike finish and a 16th-place Superstock finish from Thursday night’s races, progress was made on Saturday. 8th place in Saturday morning’s Superbike race was a real highlight and Davo was especially pleased with that result. We caught up with him after it was all over to catch his thoughts…
“We’re getting there. We worked until the end of today and made some changes for the last Superbike race. In the first Superbike I was 8th and I told everyone that if we get into the top 10 this week it’s like a win for us. There was no testing and it went very well. We finished 8th and could meet the next group, so we were competitive and that was good.”
Davo dropped out of Saturday’s stock race because the bike ‘didn’t feel right’, but that’s understandable when you consider his machine wasn’t spinning before Wednesday’s practice session.
“There have been a lot of positives. Superstock is not doing that well so we need to find the problem there but we will solve that problem and resolve any issues for TT.”
Saturday’s second Superbike race didn’t go as smoothly as the first, but that wasn’t Davo’s or the bike’s fault.
“I got cut off the line and then got pushed into the first two corners and the race was almost done. That’s how it happened, and then I just kept going in circles.”
That final race was not without drama, however. John McGuinness explodes right in front of Davo and covers him with oil.
“I waved him down, as there was oil all over my visor and I lost a lot of time. The poor bastard is probably still out there somewhere by the tracks,” he laughed.
Overall, North West provided a good track period and allowed Johnson and team to collect data to take to the Isle of Man TT in just over two weeks, which was North West’s aim…
“It’s very positive. The Superbike, I’m ready to take it to the TT as is. The Superstock bike needs a bit of work but we’ll get it right.”
Davo will attend the BSB round at Donington Park this weekend to support mate Billy McConnell but will not take part. The risk of injury was too great for the Isle of Man immediately afterwards. Davo knows more than most how badly things can go, as he missed 2022 after fracturing his pelvis at Oulton Park in the lead-up to the TT.
There will be much interest in Davo’s progress this year when he arrives on the island as an official Kawasaki rider. With Dean Harrison moving to Honda after many years with Team Green, many will be interested to see if Kawasaki can still compete.
We won’t have to wait long to see how things play out; The TT opens with the opening practice session on Monday 27 May.
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