Further bad luck struck the GBmoto Racing Kawasaki team in today’s Senior TT race as the top of Gary Johnson’s gear shifter snapped off on lap three. Despite the problem, he was still able to bring the machine home in twelfth place. A stunning second lap saw GBmoto join the prestigious 130mph club as Gary rode his fastest ever lap of the TT course at 130.545mph.  

With the Isle of Man TT proving a steep learning curve for the GBmoto Racing Kawasaki team, suspension problems meant they spent the entire fortnight battling to find a solution to chassis problems that could not be cured.

With the first running of the race being red flagged, the second outing saw Gary enjoy a strong start as he slotted into fifth place on the timing screen by Glen Helen. With the front runners setting record-breaking pace, and suffering with the same suspension problems that have plagued the team since they arrived at the TT, Gary was unable to match them and slipped back to ninth at the pit stop. Despite the problems, he was still able to set his fastest ever lap of the TT at 130.545mph average – meaning GBmoto joined the prestigious 130 club on their debut TT.

With one of the fastest pit stops, Gary moved up to eighth by Glen Helen on lap three however bad luck again struck the team as the top of the gear shifter snapped off. Preventing him from riding the Kawasaki ZX-10R at full racing pace, Gary was unable to fend off the challenges of those behind him, eventually crossing the line in twelfth to secure a silver replica.  

Commenting on a challenging week, Gary Johnson said,

“This week has certainly been a learning curve for the whole team and we’ve struggled with a certain part of the bike that we were unaware of until arriving here. Despite these problems, which were out of our control, the guys in the garage have been fantastic and have done everything they can to improve our performance – enabling me to lap the course faster than I ever have before in that final race.

It’s certainly frustrating to end the week with a broken gear lever but fundamentally the bike is fantastic and with a further twelve months development, I’m sure it’ll be capable of winning a TT race next year.  

GBmoto Racing Kawasaki Team Principal, Mark Smith-Halvorsen surmised,

“The Senior TT finishes what’s been a highly enjoyable but equally challenging fortnight for the GBmoto team. With it being our debut year, we knew it would be a steep learning curve and having completed it the team now know what a huge challenge it is to compete at the front and stand on the podium. 

Our results do not actually indicate the true pace of the GBmoto Kawasaki’s, as we struggled to work around a problem with a fundamental part of the machine. We now know how to improve the machine over the next twelve months and our enthusiasm for Road Racing is stronger than ever so I’m confident we’ll be back next year and challenging for podiums.

I just want to thank the entire team for their hard work over the last two weeks, it hasn’t been easy but they’ve continued to develop the bikes with every session. I also want to say a huge thank you to our sponsors and partners, Kawasaki, McAMS, Global Reach Partners and Datatag for their faith and commitment as without their support we wouldn’t have been here competing at the Isle of Man TT.”