Team ILR are delighted to announce that Paton Motorcycles have asked Ian Lougher to oversee the fortunes of their Lightweight (Supertwin) bike at the 2015 Isle of Man TT races under the banner of Paton/Team ILR.
The machine in question is the Paton S1, which was homologated last year just in time for the TT when Olie Linsdell rode and grabbed a very creditable 6th place finish.
With Linsdell a non-starter at this year's TT, Paton approached the Team ILR manager with a view to running Michael Rutter on their bike, a request which Lougher didn't need asking twice.
The world renowned motorcycle company have worked closely with the highly respected Welshman in recent times, culminating in a dramatic win in last year's 500cc Classic TT on board Steve Linsdell's Team Flitwick 1968 CMM Paton BIC 500 when, despite being awarded a 30-second penalty for jumping the pits at the start of lap two, Lougher put in a typically determined performance to win yet again round the 37.75-mile Mountain Course.
Michael Rutter has recorded four TT victories in his Isle of Man career since making his debut in 1994 including two SES TT Zero race wins. He recorded a third place finish in the Lightweight class in 2013. He has a fastest lap of 130.637mph, which makes him the tenth fastest rider of all time around the Mountain Course.
Ian Lougher (Team ILR manager) said:
"For me as a Team owner it's a great honor to be asked by such a well respected company like Paton, to run their S1 650cc Twin at this year's TT race festival. I have been a big fan of the Italian manufacturer for a long time, and followed their racing exploits for many years through the two stroke era in 500cc GP's to the present day, where Olie took a fantastic top 6 finish in last year's race. With so much more development this time around, and with Michael sat in the hot seat, I am sure together we can put Paton back on the rostrum where they belong."
Roberto Pattoni (Paton founder) commented:
"We have a strong relationship with the Isle of Man since our birth in 1958.
Last year we did a big effort racing in the Lightweight class with our first and new road legal product, the Paton S1, thanks to Steve and Olie Linsdell. They did a very good job and created this year the opportunity to rely on Ian's team and Michael's ability to present our bike in perfect shape and carrying the latest tuning and set up."
Mario Pagani (Paton CEO) added:
"Paton is a demonstration of what can be done with a limited amount of economic resources but a great passion for racing and quality products. Thanks to our efforts and continuous development our clients have great satisfactions in the Classic TT since many years and now our focus is the Lightweight class. For us it was a great honor receiving the positive answer from Ian and Michael and we will give them all our technical ability and support for a positive performance."
Michael Rutter replied:
"I am really excited to be asked to ride the Paton in the Lightweight race.
Paton is a small passionate Italian company who are steeped in racing history and renowned for building great motorcycles. The bike looks fantastic, and considering how little testing time Olie had on it last year, due to the last minute homologation checks etc, he still ended up 3rd quickest in practice, and was able to bring it home in 6th position in the race, so I can't wait to ride it."
