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Following two years of cancellations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Isle of Man TT is back for 2022 and promises to be bigger and better than ever before. As road racing fans rejoice in the return of the sport’s flagship event, the racers who have missed out on almost 36 months of competitive riding could be forgiven for feeling slightly nervous.
For reigning Senior TT winner, Dean Harrison, the pressure is on, however the characteristically laid-back Yorkshireman is certainly not letting it show. Having spent the pandemic years honing his already-ample talent in other racing disciplines, he’s relaxed and ready to tackle what the island throws at him in 2022.
Dean, let’s take you back to 2019 and your first-ever Senior TT win. How did it feel to be standing on that podium?
It was almost overwhelming to be honest. The thing is, it’s the biggest trophy you’ll ever win in road racing. I’d won other TT races before and to win in any class is such an achievement, it’s unbelievable, but to win the Senior was so special. With the TT being the biggest event of the season, to finish the week off like that feels like the weight of the world lifted off your shoulders.
The cancellation of the TT and other road races for the last two years has been fairly devastating for many, not least the riders. How has it affected you?
It’s been so surreal. The whole Covid thing has been surreal and you just find it hard to believe what’s happened. Doing the British Superbike Championship has filled a bit of the gap, so at least we’ve been riding some bikes, but it’s like there’s been a piece of the jigsaw missing. Hopefully we can finish the jigsaw off this year!
You did your first full season in BSB in 2021 – was that something you had always planned to do, or did it come about due to the lack of road racing events?
It only really came about because we didn’t have any road races on the calendar. The team boss suggested we do the BSB season just to keep us sharp. The bike and all the equipment we had from 2019 was just sat there, so we thought we might as well put it to good use. Most racers start in BSB and go to roads, but I’ve done it the other way around. BSB is so competitive and it’s a brilliant championship. I really enjoy doing it and I’m looking forward to doing more this year. Having said all that, my heart will always lie in road racing. That’s what I do. It’s what I grew up around and it’s what I know.
Do you think doing the BSB season will improve your road racing?
I do, yes. I think it’s helped me and the team. When you ride together and work together, you’re finding things out about the bike all the time. You’re riding all the time, so you’re bike fit and your head is in the game. I think that has a knock-on effect, big time. It will help us as we go back into the road racing season. I can’t wait to get back to it now. I’m just looking forward to getting the whole season going, to getting to the North West, to the TT, all of it. I’ve missed it a lot and I just want to get my teeth back into it now. A bit of normality.
As the defending Senior TT winner with a two-year gap, are you feeling the pressure more than you usually would?
Do you know what? I actually feel quite relaxed about it all. The only thing I feel a bit apprehensive about is what the track’s going to be like. It changes year-on-year and it’s been three years since we raced there. It might take a bit of time to get up to speed, it might not. I’ll just take it as it comes.
Are you doing anything different to prepare mentally or physically?
The only thing different is that I’m doing a lot more off-road riding that I’ve ever done before. I bought a Kawasaki KX250X so I’m doing a lot of Enduro riding now. I’ve dabbled in a bit of Enduro here and there, but never anything serious. When I found out that Kawasaki had the KS250X coming, I thought “I’ll have one!” It turned up and I was straight in at the deep end, but I’m excited to get to work with the bike and see what it can do. It has so much potential.
What are your plans for the bike?
I’m taking part in some rounds of the British Enduro Championship, then I’m hoping to finish the season off at the Sea to Sky race in Turkey. My plan is to race and develop the bike as the year goes on and really put a bit of effort into it. It’s a brand-new motorbike, I’ve never really ridden a four-stroke off-road bike and it’s totally different, so I thought I need a bit of time here. It’s not that I’m not taking it seriously, but I don’t have to take it too seriously so it’s a little bit more relaxed for me.
With road racing, BSB and Enduro, you won’t have much time for rest.
Well, yeah, I do like to keep busy!
Dean will be competing in the 2022 British Superbike Championship, the Isle of Man TT, North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix with DAO Racing Kawasaki.
Following the worldwide response to the one-off KRT Superbike team heritage livery used at the Argentinian round of the World Superbike Championship in 2021, the Kawasaki Racing Team have created a unique experience combining a road going replica kit for the ZXR750-H2 and GPz900R styled machines along with matching leathers and a track experience with KRT riders which is being auctioned on eBay ending on March 3.
With overwhelmingly positive feedback for both the machines that Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes rode, the team have used a pair of fresh from the crate Ninja ZX-10RR machines which have been dismantled at the KRT workshop in Granollers near Barcelona and rebuilt as faithful replicas of the racing machines with the added advantage that they will be fully road legal.
For Alex the choice in Argentina was the red and black livery of the 1980’s GPz900R, the first machine in the world to be called a Ninja and two-wheeled star of a famous Hollywood film. Complete with an RST race suit made for the event, Lowes topped the look off by wearing “aviator” style sunglasses in the pit box before satisfying his “need for speed”.
Jonathan fell in love with the re-imagining of the ZXR750-H style of 1990’s as soon as he saw it; an era when the likes of Scott Russell, Robbie Phillis, Doug Chandler and Aaron Slight rode for the green team. Resplendent in his custom made Alpinestars leathers, the six-time WorldSBK Champion lined up on the grid and wound the clock back to a golden era of Superbike racing.
For Alex the choice in Argentina was the red and black livery of the 1980’s GPz900R, the first machine in the world to be called a Ninja and two-wheeled star of a famous Hollywood film. Complete with an RST race suit made for the event, Lowes topped the look off by wearing “aviator” style sunglasses in the pit box before satisfying his “need for speed”.
Jonathan fell in love with the re-imagining of the ZXR750-H style of 1990’s as soon as he saw it; an era when the likes of Scott Russell, Robbie Phillis, Doug Chandler and Aaron Slight rode for the green team. Resplendent in his custom made Alpinestars leathers, the six-time WorldSBK Champion lined up on the grid and wound the clock back to a golden era of Superbike racing.
Only one of each style of machine has been created by the same mechanics that work on Rea and Lowes’ racing Ninja machines and each with be accompanied by an exclusive “ownership package” that includes a Certificate of Exclusivity from KRT. Each lucky buyer will be able to spend a day on circuit with the team… and will even have 30 minutes of track time allocated alongside the KRT riders!
And to ride their newly purchased pride and joy the winner of the GPz900R replica will receive a set of custom-made RST leathers while the lucky owner of the ZXR750 style machine will be kitted out with unique Alpinestars racing leathers. Befitting such a special event, each owner will be presented with a photographic and video record of the day which they will surely never forget.
In terms of specification, each Ninja ZX-10RR will be a new unit supplied by an official Kawasaki dealer and will feature the following heritage kit courtesy of KRT sponsor partners: Akrapovic Kawasaki Heritage Limited Edition slip-on silencer, Valter Moto brake protector and rear paddock stand, Puig track-day windscreen and swing-arm bobbins, GB Racing engine covers and a Kawasaki genuine accessory fabric bike cover.
Commenting, KRT Team Manager, Guim Roda, said:
“This project was super successful in Argentina to celebrate Kawasaki’s heritage and the introduction of the River Mark worldwide brand logo. We received amazing feedback from other teams and riders as well as Kawasaki fans globally. Our reaction was to create an exclusive limited edition experience with this pair of unique road machines and offer a package that amounts to a once in a lifetime ownership experience. Our KRT mechanics loved working on the bikes, and we look forward to meeting the successful bidders when they ride with Johnny and Alex.”
Watch the video here https://youtu.be/BWG9QsM0x5g
Note: The ZXR750-H2 style machine reached its reserve price within minutes of the auction starting. The GPz900R machine remains available for bidding at the time of publication.
