Dan Kneen will ride at the 2015 Isle of Man TT after signing a deal with the Valvoline Racing by Padgetts Motorcycles team.
Kneen’s hopes of competing at this year’s event were hampered back in February; when a deal with the Millsport Suzuki team fell through.
The 27-year-old will compete in the RST Superbike, PokerStars Senior, RL360 Superstock and the Monster Energy Supersport races for his new team.
On the new deal, Kneen said: “I’ve gone from having nothing to, to securing a ride with one of the best teams in the paddock in a short space of time. I can’t thank Clive enough for giving me this opportunity and I am really excited about getting the chance to work with him and his crew. It’s one of those teams that you always look at when you are coming through the ranks, hoping that one day you might get the chance to ride for them, and my chance has come and I intend to take it with both hands.”
Kneen, who won the Irish Road Racing Superbike Championship in 2014, is a regular top 10 finisher at the TT, with his best result coming in 2010 when he finished fifth in the opening Supersport race. Since making his TT debut Kneen has gone on to achieve 18 Silver and four Bronze Replicas.
At last year’s event for former Manx Grand Prix winner managed to finish inside the top eight in the Senior, Superstock and second Supersport races.
He also managed to post his quickest ever lap of the Mountain Course, lapping at an impressive 129.360mph – making him the 17th fastest rider in history on that course.
Team manager, Clive Padgett, said: “We are delighted to be working with Dan Kneen in 2015. He is a rider we have long admired and who we feel has shown great potential, often without the chance to really show what he is capable of. We see this as the start of what will hopefully turn into a long relationship and we want to be part of Dan realising his potential over the next few years.”
Alongside the TT, Kneen will also compete for the Padgetts Honda team at the North West 200, Ulster Grand Prix and also at selected rounds of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000c Championship.
