Northumberland’s Dominic Herbertson will race a Kawasaki Supertwin machine at the Isle of Man TT this year in memory of his close friend James Cowton.

Yorkshireman Cowton, who clinched a Supertwins victory at the North West 200 last season for the Northern Ireland-based McAdoo Racing team, was tragically killed in a crash at the Southern 100 on the Isle of Man.

On Monday night, his family issued a statement announcing that Team Cowton Racing would continue in 2019 to honour James’ memory, with Herbertson due to ride a Kawasaki ER6 at the TT.

The statement said:

“2018 was an incredibly difficult year for all of us at Team Cowton Racing. Losing James was heart-breaking and we miss him very much. James was an amazing rider, son, boyfriend and ‘some boy’ to many people.

“James always dreamt of winning the TT and running his own race team, so Fran, Neil and Chloe discussed the team’s future and decided to take James’ dream on board and run a team in his memory.

“This was not an easy decision. There was a lot to think about and take into account, but after eight years of visiting the Island and everything we have learnt, we knew that this is what we wanted to do and what James would have wanted.”

The statement went on to say that Herbertson was the perfect choice to lead the venture given his close friendship with James.

“Cowton Racing would proudly like to announce that we will be returning to the TT paddock as a team along with a very special friend of James’, Dominic Herbertson, on board the Kawasaki ER6 Supertwin.

“James and Dom have been very good friends for many years and we know that James would have approved of Dom riding his bike at the TT. Dom told us that he felt honoured to be asked to ride for the Cowton team and we are looking forward to having him on board.

“As many know, running a competitive bike does incur costs and we want to bring that ‘factory’ feel to Dominic, so if anyone would be interested in sponsoring the team then please get in touch – any help is always greatly appreciated.

We look forward to seeing you all on the Isle of Man in May 2019.”

Kyle White