2022 ushers in a new era for Supertwin TT
Bennetts Supertwin TT at 2022 Isle of Man TT will see Aprilia and Yamaha battle class leaders Kawasaki and Paton over what is expected to be four tight laps.
Carefully established rules for 2022 see the engine displacement limit increase from 650cc to 700cc, meaning the Aprilia RS660 and Yamaha R7 will compete with the Kawasaki Ninja 650 and Paton S1R that have dominated the segment. class since it was introduced back to the TT racing schedule in 2012 as the Lightweigh TT, but by 2022 known as the Supertwin TT. However, Michael Dunlop is once again expected to be the one to beat.
Winning the last two races and the current lap record holder thanks to the 2018 lap with an average of 122,750mph, Dunlop started in 6th place on MD Racing Paton, 50 seconds behind the challenger most recent from 2019, Jamie Coward. The KTS race, run by Steadplan Kawasaki, lost only 1.2 seconds in 2019, and will wear a number plate for the first time at this year’s TT Races.
Coward will be followed by two of the new Aprilias, with Italian runner-up Stefano Bonetti moving from Paton to No. 2, and Ashcourt Racing’s Lee Johnston starting at No. 3.
2017 winner Michael Rutter started in 4th and returned aboard the Paton, managed by Team ILR by ten-time TT winner, Ian Lougher.
Peter Hickman is one of the other ‘big names’ who have joined and kept his traditional No 10 for the time being, but he has yet to confirm his choice of machine for the class at the time of writing.
Three-time champion Dafabet Racing will take on Gary Johnson in 7th place on one of their highly developed Kawasakis, with teammate Rob Hodson running the race from 11.
Hodson will be looking to make the most of his all-time top TT starting position in a class that has historically stoked some of the lesser-known opponents. Dominic Herbertson, Paul Jordan and Michael Sweeney will also have similar thoughts, at numbers 5, 8 and 13 respectively.
Adam McLean and McAdoo Racing have a big chance of winning a high from 14th place, while two places ahead of him will be Manx GP doubles winner and Classic TT podium finisher, James Hind . He was Rutter’s teammate on another ILR/Mark Coverdale Paton Team.
Austrian racer Julian Trummer (15 years old) has earned his name in class and will aim for much of the same on WH Racing Kawasaki.
Outside the top 20, this year’s only female solo competitor, Maria Costello starts at 30 on the Mark Coverdale/RAM Safety Solutions Paton, while the three newcomers are Jamie Cringle (42), Joseph Loughlin (48). and Craig Szczypek (57) get their first taste of the smallest variety.
Top 20 entries for Bennetts Supertwin TT
- Jamie Coward – Architects Racing powered by Steadplan, Kawasaki
- Stefano Bonetti – Speed motorcycle, Aprilia
- Lee Johnston – Ashcourt Racing, Aprilia
- Michael Rutter – ILR, Paton
- Dominic Herbertson – CC Engineering, Kawasaki
- Michael Dunlop – MD Racing, Paton
- Gary Johnson – Dafabet Racing, Kawasaki
- Paul Jordan – PreZ Racing, Kawasaki
- Peter Hickman – Performance PHR, TBC
- Rob Hodson – Dafabet Racing, Kawasaki
- James Hind – ILR / Mark Coverdale, Paton
- Michael Sweeney – KBS Kawasaki, Kawasaki
- Adam McLean – Gortreagh Printing / McAdoo Kawasaki, Kawasaki
- Julian Trummer – WH Racing powered by Dynobike, Kawasaki
- James Chawke – CBG Contractor, Kawasaki
- Brian McCormack – JT Performance of Global Robots, Aprilia
- Michael Evans – Heattech Racing, Kawasaki
- John Barton – Wemoto, Kawasaki
- Michael Russell – Fraser Evans Tire Recycling, Aprilia
