Bristol-based JHS Racing have finalised their squad for the 2016 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy, with three riders lining up in the Bennetts Lightweight class aboard the team’s all-new Suzuki SV650s. Emerging roads star, Michael Russell joins Dave Moffitt and TT-rookie Alastair Fagan for a three-pronged attack on the Supertwins division.
Russell, from Salisbury, joins JHS Racing after a successful season in 2015 where he scored a 7th place in the Lightweight TT. He’ll also be riding a JHS prepared, Yoshimura supported GSX-R600 in the Monster Energy Supersport races, as well as several outings at selected international road races.
“I am very excited to join the JHS Racing family for 2016’s international road races,” said Russell. “James has been developing the Suzukis and putting 110% into my bikes for this year, and I will be putting the same effort into my riding. Pre-season training is going well and I will be on it from the start at Scarborough in April. This season I will be pushing for a podium in the Lightweight race, top-ten in Supersport and top-20 on the big bike. I know the bikes and myself are capable.”
Dave Moffitt unites with JHS Racing for a fifth consecutive year, having won the Manx GP and claimed an 11th place finish in the 2012 Lightweight TT. “I am really looking forward to this year’s TT as the Suzuki has been further refined in its development and will be a force to be reckoned with in the Lightweight race. I am also pleased to have such high calibre teammates and look forward to working with them to achieve the team’s goals.”
Completing the line-up is motorcycle journalist, Alastair Fagan, who has years of experience with the team including a season of British Supersport back in 2008. The thirty-something from Bath will be making his TT debut this season aboard JHS’s Supertwin having spent the past few years developing the bike on short circuits.
“It’s the biggest motorsport event on any racing calendar and for me, the absolute pinnacle of motorcycling is the Isle of Man TT. James at JHS Racing has been hassling me for years to have a go and this year felt like the right time. I understand that riding and racing the Mountain course are two very different things, and learning is a lengthy process, which is part of the reason why I’ll be concentrating solely on the little Supertwin this year. Milky and John Barton have been awesome and I already feel confident in my circuit knowledge. I’d like to say a massive thanks to JHS Racing and also to the TT organisers for their assistance in coming over as a newcomer.”
JHS Racing’s Team Manager, James Holland: “This is a very exciting time for the JHS Racing team.We are elated with the rider line-up and the new developments coming into this season. We know we’ve got the bike and I believe we now have the rider in Michael Russell, who has proved himself as a competitive frontrunner. Dave is part of the furniture and Fagan is simply a stallion.”
