INJURY SIDELINES COWARD AS BROWNE JOINS KTS RACING FOR TT

Injuries sustained at the North West 200 Road Races have unfortunately ruled Jamie Coward out of this year’s Isle of Man TT Races, but the KTS Racing powered by Stanley Stewart team will now field Mike Browne in the 1000cc races.

Browne was due to ride the MLav Racing BMW M1000RR but will now campaign a similar machine for KTS Racing in the RST x D3O Superbike, RL360/Opul Superstock and Milwaukee Senior races instead.

Having switched from Honda to BMW, Coward was expected to be one of the podium contenders at this year’s TT having impressed in both pre-season and at the North West 200, where he took a strong sixth in the opening Superbike race.

However, a heavy spill at Juniper Hill on the final lap of Saturday’s first Supertwin race left the 34-year-old with several injuries which means he’ll be a non-starter for the June event.

Together with KTS Racing, Coward has finished inside the top eight in eight of the last ten 1000cc races to take place, only a retirement and non-start in the last two editions of the Senior breaking a clean sweep. Six of those eight finishes have been inside the top six and with Kevin Watret’s team having secured the ex-Josh Brookes machine from 2024, both rider and team had high hopes for 2025.

The Yorkshire rider’s misfortune though is Browne’s gain. The Irishman suffered several technical issues with the MLav Racing BMW at the North West 200 and that, combined with a slow supply in key components, left his participation at the TT in doubt. However, team owner Michael Laverty has given permission for him to take over the KTS Racing machine.

Browne will now be looking to make the most of the opportunity handed to him and build upon the sixth-place finish and near 131mph lap recorded in last year’s Senior. 

Commenting on this opportunity, Browne said:

“Firstly, I would like to wish Jamie a speedy recovery. I am very keen to get going with the KTS Racing team and have high hopes to better the results of last year.”

KTS Racing Team Owner Kevin Watret added:

“We are all gutted to have Jamie injured following his off at the North West 200 and wish him a speedy recovery. We welcome Mike on board with KTS. Let’s see if we can get him some good results.”