MICHAEL RUTTER

Michael Rutter has been attending the Isle of Man TT Races from the moment he was born, with dad Tony first tasting success at the event in 1973 when he won the Junior race with six further victories between then and 1985. It was inevitable Michael would follow in his footsteps having spent all his formative years in the paddock, not just at the UK circuits but many abroad too.

Despite Tony suffering serious injuries at Montjuich Park, Spain shortly after his seventh victory in 1985, which ended his career at the sharp end of the results sheets, he competed on the island until 1991 and just three years later Michael made his TT debut when aged 22.

Tony helped nurture Michael’s career whilst four-time TT podium finisher Roger Marshall was also on hand in that debut year. A good 17th place was taken on the unfamiliar Medd Honda RC45 in the Formula One race but with team-mate Robert Dunlop crashing after the rear wheel collapsed, it was the only race he contested.

Returning every year until 2000, Michael rapidly shot up the leaderboard with his first podium coming in 1996 and his first win two years later. His short circuit aspirations were ever-increasing though and after a year in the 500cc World Championship as well, the British Superbike Championship took precedent for the years ahead.

However, road racing was in the blood and Michael made his TT return in 2007 although the large number of years missed has meant he’s been playing catch-up to his rivals ever since. Nevertheless, success has continued particularly in the TT Zero class, where he was a winner on no less than five occasions, and in the Lightweight where he was victorious in 2017. He’s also won races at the Classic TT whilst the exotic RC213V-S he rode in 2019 grabbed considerable attention.

Combining racing with team management, Rutter celebrated 30 years of racing and 25 years of competing at the TT in 2019 and he’s now realistic in his ambitions. That could be seen in 2025 when, for the first time, he removed the 1000cc races from his schedule despite further top ten finishes being taken in the Superbike and Senior races the year before.

The Supertwin class is his sole focus now, but such is his, and the family’s stature within the sport, a corner was named after them in 2024, Glen Helen 1 being re-named Rutter’s.