Davey Todd

Name: Davey Todd

Date of Birth: September 14^th, 1995

Place of Birth: Saltburn, England

Nationality: British

Races competed: National Superstock 600cc Championship, Isle of Man TT, Irish Road Races, North West 200, Ulster GP & Macau GP

Facebook: Davey Todd

Twitter: @DaveyTodd742

Image credit iomttraces.com

Getting into biking:

In 2001, at the age of six, motorcycle racing fan Todd participated in his first race, the North East Motocross Club (Autos), where he placed an impressive 4^th. He returned the following year to win the competition at 7 years old and this was the start of a brilliant winning streak for Davey who went on to win the Vale Motocross Club (65cc) competition in 2003.

This was only the start, however, as he moved onto the British Enduro Championship (Under 10’s) races in 2004 and 2005, where he came in 1^st place in both. The same results followed in 2006 and 2007, this time in the Northern Enduro Championship (Under 12’s), and moving up to the Northern Enduro Championship (Senior B) level in 2008, Davey (of course) won that title as well!

Racing Icon:

Peter Hickman

Career Highlights (pre-2018):

From 2001, Davey has been in the top 10 in every competition he has competed in, including being runner-up in the 2009 Vale Motocross Club Youth Open Championship, 3^rd in the 2011 British Supermoto Championship (250cc), 6^th in the 2012 British Supermoto Championship (Open Elite) and then 2^nd in the same competition in 2013 and 2014.

The following year saw Davey switch to the tarmac where he promptly took 1^st place in the Thundersport GB Elite Stock 600 Championship.

Davey started to draw real attention when competing in the National Superstock 600cc Championship in 2016, where, riding for Morello Racing Kawasaki, he finished in an impressive sixth place overall with race wins at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch and fourth at both Silverstone and Donington Park.

Davey continued with the same team in 2017 and third place in the opening round of the National Superstock 600cc Championship at Donington Park made him one of the favourites for the title. However, soon after he decided to turn his focus to road racing with his debut coming at July’s Skerries 100 where he immediately impressed.

Indeed, his fine display saw him take two fourth place finishes as well as fifth place in the Open Race and with strong performances at both the Barry Sheene Festival at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough and the Armoy Road Races he was certainly catching the eye of many.

August 2017 saw him make his Ulster Grand Prix debut and he achieved a brilliant 2^nd place finish in the Dundrod 150 National Race which led into the feature race day on Saturday. In the opening Supersport 600cc race, Davey took a solid 17^th but the second race saw him, amazingly, in contention for a top six finish. However, having lapped at a superb 125.503mph, he was cruelly forced to retire on the fifth lap of six but his performances gave him great encouragement going into 2018, where he would be a newcomer at the North West 200, Isle of Man TT and numerous Irish National road races.

Image credit iomttraces.com

2018 season:

2018 was Todd’s first full road racing campaign, and having been signed to ride for former racer John Burrows’ Cookstown BE Racing team, he’s made quite a name for himself since.

On his Cookstown 100 debut in April, Davey managed 8^th in the Open A race, 7^th in the Supersport Invitation, and 10^th in the Supersport A race but the highlight was finishing on the podium in the Supertwins encounter where he came 3^rd just a few hundredths of a second adrift off second. A week later Davey headed to the Tandragee 100, where he managed 7^th in the Championship Open race.

At the North West 200, the 22-year-old was named the top newcomer after a number of brilliant performances. A series of fine rides saw Davey finish 12^th in both of the Superstock races and also the opening Superbike race with his consistent run followed up by an impressive 13^th place in the feature NW200 Superbike race. This fine form set Todd up nicely for his first appearance at the big one – the Isle of Man TT.

When a rider is making their debut at the TT they can sometimes go under the radar as they gain experience on the 37.73 mile Mountain Course and before the races Todd had said he was heading to the TT simply to ride as fast as he could, have fun, and gain the experience needed to compete at the front in the future. Race week saw Todd somewhat go further than these expectations.

After a strong 16^th place in the opening Superbike race, Davey then took an excellent 12^th place in the opening Supersport race and from that moment on he simply got better and better, claiming his first top ten finish in the Superstock race with 10^th place where he not only won another silver replica but also lapped at 127.890mph to become the second fastest newcomer ever to have lapped the 37.73-mile Mountain Course. Only Peter Hickman has lapped quicker as a course debutante.

12^th place was again the outcome in the second Supersport race but he saved the best until last with the Blue Riband Senior race seeing him not only finish in a brilliant ninth place on the Suzuki GSXR1000 but also lap quicker still at a superb 128.379mph. It rounded off a remarkable TT fortnight for the newcomer and he came away with a haul of accolades which included the TT Newcomers Trophy, the TT Privateers Championship and the RST ‘Star of Tomorrow’ Award for 2018.

Todd’s remarkable first full road racing season was not done there and following the TT he impressed at both Walderstown and Faugheen, claiming a number of podium finishes.

Next up was the Southern 100 on the Isle of Man, where he achieved further podium finishes, taking second in the very first race of the week, the Corlett’s Trophies 600/1000 race. Fourth and sixth was the outcome in the two Senior races and he then took 3^rd in the Solo Championship race to cap another successful meeting in the Isle of Man. Top ten finishes were taken in all of the other classes and a lap of 112.571mph not only made him the fastest newcomer in the history of the event but also the eighth fastest rider of all time!

More terrific performances came at the Ulster Grand Prix, where Todd placed a brilliant fourth – less than half a second off the podium – in the Superstock where he lapped at a stunning 132.605mph and he matched the result in the opening Supersport race. Fifth was also taken in the Supertwins race but he then fell heavily at Deer’s Leap whilst chasing a podium place in the Superbike race and he was subsequently taken to hospital. Thankfully, Todd did not suffer any broken bones in the high speed spill and was able to compete in the Classic TT later that month although it was a stark reminder of how the sport can bite back as much as it can reward.

Eighth in the Junior race at the Classic TT was followed by a good performance at the Frohburg road races in Germany where he was riding for the Penz13.com BMW team and he continued with the team for his Macau Grand Prix debut in November.

Ninth place around the challenging Guia circuit capped an unbelievable road racing year for Davey Todd where he quite literally burst onto the scene. The Northumbrian has subsequently signed for the Penz13.com team for the 2019 season and, definitely one to watch in the future, we predict very big things in the season ahead!

2019 season

Davey Todd competed in the superbike category of the 2019 International Road Racing Championship for the Wepol Racing/Penz 13.com team, where he won the champion representing Great Britain with a series of dominant wins at the likes of Chimay, Frohburg, Imatra and Horice.

The Saltburn rider also impressed at the North West 200, where he scooped top spot on his Honda bike riding for the Milenco by Padgett’s Motorcycles team thus taking his first ever International road race victory. Todd pipped Derek McGee and team-mate Conor Cummins to the post by under a second to win the race.

Another North West 200 podium finish came in the Superstock race which saw James Hillier take the win with Todd coming home in 3^rd place, this time riding a BMW for the Penz13.com race team.

Todd also made the podium at the Ulster GP taking the runner-up spot in the Superstock race which was won by Peter Hickman; Davey was racing on Penz13.com’s BMW machine. 3^rd place in the Supersport race saw Davey feature on the podium again, like the Superstock race it was Hickman that took top-spot, though this time Lee Johnston took the second step on the podium.

Other results at Dundrod included fourth on the Padgetts Honda in the third Supersport race and fourth and a brace of fifths in the three Superbike races.

As for the Isle of Man TT, Todd put in a very consistent display through a very rainy and disrupted race week, finishing in the top 10 in every race he competed in. His results were as follows, 10^th in the Superbike race, 9^th in the Supersport 1, 8^th in the Superstock TT and 7^th in Supersport 2. The Senior TT was the race that really made Davey stand out this year, with a fastest lap at an incredible 131.491mph giving him a sixth place finish, in just his second year, in the main TT event.

It was then on to the Classic TT, where he took a brilliant second place in the Lightweight race, his first ever outing on a 250cc machine, and concluded his superb season with an excellent fourth place at the Macau Grand Prix.

Todd had become the hottest property in road racing and it came as little surprise when it was announced in November that he would be riding for Honda Racing at the 2020 International road races and in the National Superstock 1000 Championship.

Favourite course/track:

Isle of Man TT

Career Achievements – at a glance:

• 2019 Isle of Man TT – 6^th Senior, 7^th & 9^th Supersport, 8^th Superstock and 10^th Superbike
• Set a new personal best lap of 131.491mph during the 2019 Senior TT race
• 2019 1^st North West 200 Supersport race
• 2019 3^rd North West 200 Superstock race
• 2019 Ulster Grand Prix – 2^nd Superstock, 3^rd & 4^th Supersport, 4^th, 5^th & 5^th Superbike
• 2019 1^st International Road Race Superbike Championship
• 2019 4^th Macau Grand Prix
• 2018 Isle of Man TT debut – 9^th Senior, 10^th Superstock, 12^th x 2 Supersport, 16^th Superbike
• Second fastest newcomer in TT history with a lap of 128.379mph
• Winner of the 2018 TT Newcomers Trophy, TT Privateers Championship and RST Star of Tomorrow award
• 2018 North West 200 debut – 12^th and 13^th Superbike, 12^th and 13^th Superstock
• 2018 Ulster Grand Prix – fourth Superstock and Supersport races, fifth in the Supertwins race and a fastest lap of 132.605mph
• Third, 2018 Southern 100 Solo Championship
• Fastest newcomer in the history of the Southern 100 with a lap of 112.571mph, currently the eighth fastest rider of all time
• Sixth, 2016 Pirelli National Superstock 600 Championship – wins at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch
• Podium finisher in the 2018 Irish National Championship road races

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