Who's your money on for TT23?!

Just when you get into the swing of the season it’s suddenly back-to-back weekends with Oulton BSB, the NW200, and then Donington BSB and we all get mired down with travel and logistics and before we know it it’s TT time! A fine example of how things go sometimes, our UGGLY&Co crew made the boat back to the Island this week with just THREE minutes to spare… it’s been a busy time for all of us! No complaints from any of us, we’ve had a fantastic time at all the events and the UGGLY&Co/ Black Dub merchandise is proving incredibly popular in ’23 and we have to thank everyone who’s become part of the Uggly Bunch so far.

As for our supported racers, it’s been an equally busy time for them with Davey Todd competing at every opportunity as usual as he gets to grips with his debut season in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship with Milenco by Padgetts Racing Honda and smashing it with two Supersport wins at the NW200. All focus for Davey now is the TT and the next two steps of the podium after his maiden visit in last season’s Superstock race. Speaking of Supersport, Joey Thompson had a NW200 to forget after two DNFs in the two races aboard his 74 Racing by Genertech Yamaha R6.

James Hillier continues his National Superstock season with Lami OMG Racing Yamaha with good showings in the opening two rounds before the trip across the Irish Sea to the famous triangle course. It’s the Ringwood rider’s second year aboard the Yamaha R1 and the experience of last season showed as he rode to a brilliant hattrick of top six places before crashing out of the feature race at Juniper Chicane, thankfully announced as uninjured after a precautionary hospital visit.

With Jamie Coward keeping his powder dry ahead of the biggest two weeks of the season for the Yorkshireman, it was left to Dom Herbertson and Jamie Williams to fly the remaining flags for the brand in Northern Ireland. Sadly, for Dom, it wasn’t the week he hoped for as a last-minute deal to ride for the legendary Wilson Craig team was over before it really began as rider and team parted company before racing even began, which is a huge shame for the lumberjack as he missed a huge amount of track time ahead of the TT. For Manxman Jamie, it was a week of fine-tuning his Supersport machine after the mad dash back across the country as we reported in the previous newsletter.

The British Supersport and Junior Superstock seasons continue apace and it’s been a mixed start for UGGLY&Co by Binch Pro rider Sam Laffins but two excellent outings at Donington Park have thrust the Northern Irishman into the championship mix. Second and fourth for Laffins lifted him to eight in the standings after three no-scores blighted the start of his season, gaining confidence all the time and the consistency needed to challenge for the title. On the other side of the garage on the stunning Carl Cox Motorsport UGGLY&Co by Binch Racing Yamaha R6, Kiwi Damon Rees took an excellent tenth and eighth at Donington Park, also building his consistency with the team after two no-scores.