STEFANO BONETTI

Back in 2004, it was Guy Martin who walked away with the prestigious Newcomer’s Trophy courtesy of seventh place and a 122mph+ lap in the Senior race. He was also the highest placed newcomer in the other races he finished but, in the Production, 600cc race he only achieved that accolade by 0.2s from Italian Stefano Bonetti.

Since then, the Italian rider has gone from strength to strength despite competing for several years in adverse conditions, the Italian federation refusing to grant their nation’s riders a licence to compete on the roads. Only hill climbs are sanctioned in Italy, a discipline of which Bonetti is a master and multiple champion, and for all other events the Castro man must compete under a licence granted by another country.

Undeterred by the rules, it’s the hill climbing events where Bonetti has honed his skills, transferring them to the Mountain Course on a yearly basis, only missing the TT in 2006 and 2013 when he was recovering from serious injuries sustained at the previous year’s Macau Grand Prix. Two broken legs plus several other injuries could have spelt the end of Bonetti’s career but he was determined to return to the Mountain Course, and he did exactly that in 2014.

In recent years, Bonetti has played an integral part in the resurgence of the Paton manufacturer both at the TT and Classic TT, finishing second at the latter in 2019, whilst he also became the first non-English speaking rider to win at the North West 200 with victory in the 2019 Lightweight race. Despite a limited budget and the language barrier, Bonetti continues to fly the TT flag for mainland Europe and equalled his best result in 2023, taking fourth in the second Supertwin race just as he’d done in 2018.

He didn’t quite reach those heights in 2024 but, nevertheless, three more top twenty finishes were recorded and he’s back again in 2025.

VIEW FROM OUR RIDER LIAISON OFFICERS

Stefano’s very quiet and unassuming but he’s a good, nice guy and a talented rider on the roads. He keeps himself to himself around the paddock but, approaching twenty years at the TT, he’s a dedicated TT fan who loves the event. He’s still churning out top class results especially in the Supertwin class and in the Senior Classic races and is a welcome returnee to the TT year on year.

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