DAFABET DEVITT RACING SIGN HODSON FOR 2020

Dafabet Devitt Racing have announced that Rob Hodson will ride for the Bristol-based squad for the 2020 Isle of Man TT Races.

The 30-year old will contest the RST Superbike, RL360 Superstock, Bennetts Lightweight, Senior and two Monster Energy Supersport Races onboard the team’s Kawasaki machinery as well as at the North West 200, Southern 100 and select British Superbike Rounds.

Operated by RC Express Racing, the team have been at the forefront of International Road Racing for a number of years, with previous riders including Isle of Man TT winners Dean Harrison and Ivan Lintin as well as Steve Mercer, Jamie Coward, Dominic Herbertson and Paul Jordan – the latter giving the team an excellent fourth place finish in last year’s Lightweight Race.

Son of renowned road racer and former Isle of Man TT podium finisher Jim Hodson, Rob has carved out his own rewarding career where he was initially successful at the Manx Grand Prix, winning the 2015 Lightweight race as well as taking four more podiums at the event.

He moved up to the TT in 2016 and has since achieved a best finish of 14th place in the 2018 Senior Race. That race also saw him post his quickest lap to date of the 37.73-mile TT Mountain Course at an average speed of 126.274mph.

Rob Hodson: “An opportunity like this doesn’t come along every day so it goes without saying that I’m over the moon to have joined the Dafabet Devitt Racing team for 2020 and I’m really grateful for the faith they’ve shown in me. I’d like to think I’ve had some strong results so far in my career and believe the team can help me make further progress and improve both my results and speeds at all of the meetings. They have a history of doing similar with other riders so I’m more than hopeful of continuing that trend in 2020.”

“I’ve been running my own team for the last few years so it will be a different experience for me to concentrate solely on my riding but one I’m really looking forward to with good results at the TT and Southern 100 both mine, and the team’s, main aim. It’s easy to see why the team have been successful as their preparation is second to none with all of the bikes immaculately turned out and there are so many positives about joining them. We’re looking to have a strong and enjoyable year and I’d also like to express my gratitude to my loyal sponsors who have been with me the last few years and fully support my plans for 2020.”

Roy Constable, team co-owner: “We’re delighted to welcome Rob to the team and we’re confident we can help him move to the next level on the road racing ladder, particularly in the Lightweight class where we know he’ll go well on our Kawasaki. He’s achieved plenty already with strong results at both the TT and Southern 100 and he’s shown plenty of potential to move even further up the leaderboard given the right opportunity.”

“He’ll be able to concentrate solely on his riding this year which should help him tremendously whilst he has a really good family behind him which fits in well with the ethos of our team. It promises to be a busy season and we’re heading to Spain next week to begin our testing campaign which will ensure we’re fully prepared for when the season gets underway. I’d also like to thank Dafabet and Devitt Insurance for their continued support along with all our other loyal sponsors.”

Tickets for the 2020 Isle of Man TT Races are now on sale via the Official TT website - iomttraces.com.

These include Official Grandstand Tickets, Race Day Hospitality Packages in the TT Mercury Club, Official Fan Events including the new TT Fan Pass and TT MotoGP Lunch, plus Official Entertainment Events. Stay up to date with all the latest TT news by subscribing to the Official Isle of Man TT Races Newsletter.