Johnson signs up for RAF TT team

Double TT winner Gary Johnson has signed for the RAF Regular and Reserve Kawasaki team to contest the 2018 Isle of Man TT races.
Gary Johnson.Gary Johnson.
Gary Johnson.

The team will field Johnson on Kawasaki ZX-10RR machinery in the RST Superbike, RL 360 Superstock and PokerStars Senior TT races and Triumph machinery for the Monster Energy Supersport Races.

Since making his debut in 2007, Broughton’s Johnson has established himself as one of the leading exponents around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course.

He has taken wins in the 2011 and 2014 Supersport Races with only bad luck denying him more.

In total, he’s taken six podiums and his fastest lap of 130.945mph, set on a Kawasaki ZX-10R in 2016, makes him the 12th fastest rider of all time currently.

The 37-year old Lincolnshire rider has a number of years’ experience riding a Kawasaki and finished second behind Michael Dunlop in the 2013 Superstock Race, having led for the first half of the race before being slowed by an oil leak.

He also rode for JG Speedfit Kawasaki in 2016 before running his own team on Suzuki last year when late arrival of the GSXR resulted in him being down the leaderboard.

Speaking about the tie up team Principal Lee Hardy said: “Gary rode for my team at the Macau Grand Prix and I was very impressed with his work ethic and he did a great job for us despite having limited track time.

“Gary showed me that he has the desire to win and he is hungry to get back to the top step at the TT.

“I saw enough to make a decision to come back to the TT with a rider who is a proven race winner.”

Johnson added: “I was really impressed by the bike in Macau and I know with a bit more time on it we could have been pushing for the win there.

“I’m really looking forward to this year’s event now and hopefully I can add a few more wins to my tally.”

The Isle of Man TT festival runs from May 26 to June 8.

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