TODD AND PADGETT’S TEAM GO SEPARATE WAYS
Davey Todd has announced that he has left the Milenco by Padgett’s Motorcycles team, completing his final race with Clive Padgett’s outfit at last weekend’s Armoy Road Races.
Speaking in a vlog on his YouTube channel, Todd made the announcement at the conclusion of the Armoy Road Races where he was looking to defend his ‘Race of Champions’ title from 2022.
Having first ridden for the team in the Supersport classes at TT 2019, Todd then signed for the factory Honda Racing UK team for 2020. However, during the two-year COVID break, John McGuinness returned to the factory outfit for the TT alongside then-newcomer, Glenn Irwin, with Todd moving to the Padgett’s team for the 2022 season.
Todd immediately gelled with the team, enjoying his best ever results at the North West 200 before claiming his first podium at the Isle of Man TT Races in the RL360 Superstock Race. Tyre issues disrupted his race week, but it was a highly impressive showing from the rising star in only his third TT appearance.
He and the Padgett’s team rounded off the season with a late surge of victories in the British Superstock 1000 Championship, taking them to the title and inspiring a move up to the Superbike class for 2023.
The 2023 season started strongly as Todd took two victories at the North West 200, but illness and reported braking issues halted further progression up the leaderboard at the Isle of Man TT Races. Nevertheless, a pair of 4th-place finishes from the relative newcomer still impressed.
Todd was conspicuous in his absence for the British Superbike round immediately after the TT leading to speculation that the 27-year old would be leaving the team, but he returned to the Southern 100 and made an appearance in the British Supersport Championship a round later on board the Padgett’s machines. However, just over a week after the Supersport appearance, the announcement was made on Todd’s YouTube channel:
“[It’s] a sad ending to an era with [Armoy] being the last ever race that I’ll ride for the Padgett’s team – for now anyways.”
“We’re going our own separate ways, I’ve had a fantastic time with the team, loved every second of it, we’ve achieved a lot together, becoming Superstock 1000 champions last year in British Superbikes, having a hell of a lot of amazing results along the way, great times and great laughs with all the boys, all the team, they’re like a family to me.”
“Honestly an awesome group of guys, we just feel like now is the time to go our separate ways and we still have a great relationship. I don’t want it coming across that anybody thinks we’ve fallen out, me and Clive [Padgett] are still going to be the best of friends definitely.”
“It’s just been a really challenging year for us, really difficult for a team like the Milenco by Padgett’s guys to compete in the British Superbike Championship. It’s been tough on everybody to step up to that Superbike class with a small team budget, a team that do not remotely have the budget of the majority of the other teams in the paddock.”
“We both just don’t feel like it’s doing us justice to be running around at the back of the grid, not competitive. We both want to be there to win every race we can do, and it’s just definitely stretched us a bit far I think, so it’s an end of an era for now with me and Padgett’s, but never say never, we could come back at any stage, you never know.”
Regarded as one of the hottest properties in road racing, all eyes will be on Davey’s next move, with a suggestion in the same vlog of an imminent announcement:
“Sad times but on to new things. I can’t really say yet what the new things are and what I’ll be moving on to, but we’ve got some really cool things in the pipeline to start a new journey.”
