MCE British Superbike Championship veteran, Michael Rutter, will compete at the 2015 Isle of Man TT after signing with Team Penz13.com BMW Racing.
The four-time TT race winner will compete on the team’s 2015 BMW S1000RR, on both the Superbike and Superstock specifications.
Following the move, the eight-time Macau Grand Prix winner said: “I am very happy to ride for the team even though it looked a bit like a long shot as the team is based in Germany. Obviously they have the best bikes available for this job and I am pretty confident that we can put the things together the way I need them and being competitive. I am not finished yet – especially not with the North West and Macau where I would like to add on another win even though the competition isn’t getting any easier.
“The TT is a bit of different story but I am looking forward to go around the Mountain course with the bikes I will have and the team behind me – I am targeting Top 6 finishes. There is still a lot of work to do at all ends for the team and myself. But I can fully focus on the job now after everything has been sorted.”
Rutter joins Stephen Thompson and Dan Kruger at the team, who competed in the 2014 Macau GP for the German team this past November.
Team boss Rico Penzkofer said: “It’s great to have such a legend as Michael is on board for this exciting season. I always had tremendous passion for real road racing, having raced at various meetings during my own professional career. We have only for meetings in the WEC that fortunately does not clash with any of the big road racing meetings. So we thought it would be good to level up on the roads too.
“Michael is obviously a very experienced rider with an incredible race record – 4 TT wins, 17 NW200 Wins and 8 Macau GP victories – I had to get him signed. We are now preparing his personal bikes in our work shop and can’t wait to get going in May”
Rutter has already experienced the team’s BMW S1000RR, having tested the bike in Almeria alongside FIM World Endurance riders, Markus Reiterberger, Bastien Mackels and Pedro Vallcaneras.
The 2015 Isle of Man TT begins on Saturday May 30 with qualifying taking centre stage, with the racing action getting under way one week later, on Saturday June 6.
