Following on from a highly successful single outing with Jackson Racing in 2017, Manxman Dan Kneen will ride for the Preston-based team in the two Monster Energy Supersport Races at the 2018 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy and the other international road races during the season.

The Braddan-based rider will campaign the Honda CBR600RR at the TT, the North West 200, Ulster Grand Prix and Southern 100 with selected outings also pencilled in at some short circuit meetings.

The 30-year old joined the team at the eleventh hour at last year’s Isle of Man TT event, taking over the ride vacated by Lee Johnston and, despite not having sat on the bike until the opening night of practice week, he put in a storming ride to finish in eighth place in the only Supersport race.

The result was even more impressive given the fact Kneen picked up a one-minute penalty for speeding in pit lane which dropped him down the order and outside the top ten. However, he fought back valiantly to claim eighth, aided by his best ever 600cc lap of 125.882mph, which was also the fourth fastest lap of the race.

As well as his commitments with Tyco BMW in the 1000cc classes, Kneen and the team aim to carry out a number of tests on the 600cc Honda prior to the North West 200 in May as they seek to capture some of the podium positions during the course of the season.


Dan Kneen:

“I’ve always enjoyed riding in the Supersport class so I’m pleased to be riding for Jackson Racing alongside Tyco BMW in 2018. Last year’s ride at the TT was all very last minute and we didn’t get much practice time due to the weather whilst I was also spending a lot of time on the big bikes but the team did a great job in preparing the little Honda so I’m looking forward to being back with them. We didn’t really have any expectations last year but although I got the pit lane penalty, we took a good eighth place and I was delighted to record my best ever 600cc lap.”

“That shows the potential of the bike and there’s definitely plenty more to come particularly as we’ll have plenty of miles under our belt both in pre-season testing and in practice. It’s great to have the ride secured as you don’t want to be missing out on races your rivals may be competing in and I’m confident we’ll pick up some good results and have a strong year together.”
 
Alan Jackson, Team Principal:

“Following a successful time at the 2017 TT when Dan was a last minute stand-in, it’s great to have him on board for the full road racing season this year. We really enjoyed working with him at last year’s TT where he did a superb job for us after very limited track time and we know the combination of Dan and the Honda is capable of getting on the podium. We’ll be working hard to achieve just that and with a lot more preparation this time around, we’re confident of some good times in 2018.”