Former Isle of Man TT race winner Ian Lougher will compete at this year’s Classic TT for the newly-formed Laylaw Classic Racing team.
The team sees 1987 Junior TT race winner Eddie Laycock joining forces with former sponsor Gerry Lawlor to produce a Yamaha TZ250 machine for Lougher to ride.
The Welshman will be competing in the Motorsport Merchandise Formula 2 event once again after dominating the race in 2014, taking victory by over 53 seconds.
Lougher has 10 TT wins to his name and was actually involved in a few battles with his new team manager during the late 1980s, both at the TT and at the North West 200.
Speaking about the new deal, Lougher said: “I’m really looking forward to riding Gerry Lawlor’s TZ 250 Yamaha in this year’s Classic TT and it’s such an honour to know that one of the best riders ever to come out of Ireland, Eddie Laycock, will be looking after the bike for me. Eddie and I stood on the rostrum alongside Steve Hislop when I won my first TT, in the record breaking 1990 250cc Junior Race and I’ve always been a fan of his.
“With the combination of Gerry and Eddie’s experience in road racing and putting together a fantastically prepared TZ Yamaha this year for me, I hope to repay them and repeat my win from last year’s Formula 2 Race this August.”
Laycock, who also enjoyed a successful Grand Prix career, is looking forward to competing at this year’s event as a team owner for the first time.
He said: “Both Gerry and I are delighted to have Ian riding for the team and are very much looking forward to this year’s Classic TT. It’s our first time competing at the event and having seen it grow rapidly we wanted to be involved. Ian was the obvious choice as rider and we’re confident of giving him the package to perform like he did in 2014.”
Practice sessions for the 2015 Classic TT are scheduled to get underway on Saturday 22 August, with the races themselves due to take place on Saturday 29 August and Monday 31 August.
