JAMES HILLIER

James Hillier’s love affair with the Isle of Man TT can be traced back to the late 1990’s when he attended the races on the pillion of his Dad’s motorbike. From that moment, he knew he wanted to race on the Mountain Course and win a TT, something he’s gone on to achieve. Indeed, he has all the attributes to be successful at the TT and for a decade now he’s been one of the best riders to be so.

After coming to the fore in the Virgin Mobile Yamaha R6 Cup, Hillier quickly moved up to the British Supersport Championship and this was the class in which he tackled the TT for the first time in 2008. Former British 250cc Champion Jamie Robinson was the big-name newcomer that year and although he excelled with two top twenty finishes, Hillier finished one place ahead of him in each race to leave with the Newcomers Trophy.

He’s been coming to the TT ever since and as well as being incredibly fast and incredibly smooth out wherever you witness him on the course, he’s also been unbelievably consistent, testament to his skills in managing and racing a motorbike and the preparation and dedication of the Bournemouth Kawasaki team for whom he rode between 2009 and 2019.

The combination of Pete Extance’s family-run team and Hillier’s own values was perfect and in the 58 TT starts they had together, they finished a remarkable 54. Those finishes included victory in the 2013 Lightweight race and 13 other podiums - which could quite easily have been more given his eight fourth place finishes - with Hillier standing on the rostrum in every other solo class.

His Supersport form, of late, has been superb and he’s been closer to victory here than in any other class but it’s Superbike success he craves for and a burning desire to try his hand on other machinery was the deciding factor in a shock move in the winter of 2019 to the Rich Energy OMG Racing team.

Initially set to campaign BMW machinery, the team ultimately settled on Yamahas for 2022 and although sixth and seventh was taken in the Superbike and Senior races, both team and rider expected more. They achieved that though in 2023 when he took three top six finishes on the big bike but, more telling, upped his pace to 132.703mph to not only set a career best but also become the fastest rider on a Yamaha around the Mountain Course.

The team surprisingly switched to Honda in 2024, but it proved to be a wise move as Hillier took three more top five finishes. And back with Bournemouth Kawasaki, fourth and sixth was the outcome in the two Supersport races. He continues on the Kawasaki in 2025 and now rides under the Muc-Off Racing banner, still on Hondas, for the 1000cc races. Bridging the gap from his own consistent laps of 132mph+ to the 134-136mph speeds being posted by Peter Hickman, Michael Dunlop, Davey Todd and Dean Harrison remains the aim if he’s to get back onto the podium.

Hillier’s also showed his versatility in both 2023 and 2025 when he competed in and completed the off-road Dakar rally event.

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NOTHING BUT JAMES HILLIER AT THE TT