Dominic Herbertson

Name: Dominic Herbertson

Date of Birth: March 4^th, 1991

Place of Birth: Hexham, Great Britain

Nationality: British

Races competed: Isle of Man TT, Ulster Grand Prix, Southern 100, Classic TT

Facebook: Dom Herbertson

Twitter: @DomHerbertson

Website: www.herbertsonracing.co.uk

Getting into biking:

Like many riders, it was very much family influence that saw Dominic get into motorcycle racing. Dominic’s father, Mark Herbertson, is a racer himself, achieving 3^rd in the Manx GP Classic 500cc race in 2011, 5^th in the 2010 Classic Junior MGP and 9^th in the MGP08 Classic Senior. As well as this, Mark has appeared at the TT on numerous occasions.

Dominic got his ACU licence in 2010 and after racing success, gained his national licence in 2013. He wasted no time getting involved in the Manx GP, competing in the same year where he impressed in the Newcomers B race, placing 6^th. Herbertson also featured in the Super Twin MGP, where he came 18^th on a 2004 Suzuki SV 650 in a race was won by Michael Russell.

Career Highlights (pre-2018):

Following this impressive Isle of Man debut, Dominic stepped up to the TT in 2014, where he achieved 30^th in the Lightweight TT – in a race that featured his father Mark, who placed 36^th. Dominic also came 36^th in the Supersport 2 race and 49^th in the first Supersport race; his fastest average race speed came in the Supersport 2 TT race at 115.642mph on a 2012 Kawasaki ZX-6R with his fastest lap being 117.627mph. In the same year, Herbertson made his Oliver’s Mount debut where he achieved a top six finish in the David Jefferies Cup B Race 1.

Since his TT debut, Dominic has been ever-present at the Isle of Man, with 2015 seeing him place 33^rd and 34^th in the Superstock and Superbike TT races respectively. This was also the year Herbertson became the North East Motorcycle Racing Club’s Super Twin champion.

Since then, Dominic has continued to turn heads and has earned the respect of fellow racers; he is now seen as one to watch in the future. A remarkable 18^th in the 2016 Senior TT  saw him complete the six laps at an average race speed of 122.093mph on a 2015 BMW S1000RR – whilst also lapping at 125.024 mph. This equalled – at the time – his highest TT finish, as he also claimed 18^th in the Supersport TT 1 race in the same year on a 2012 Kawasaki ZX-6R. These impressive finishes saw him finish 10^th in the TT Privateers championship.

Dominic is also a regular at the Classic TT, where he took an excellent 4^th in the 2017 Junior Classic TT, in a race won by Michael Rutter. The same year saw him achieve 5^th in the Senior Classic TT which he reached an average race speed of 106.456mph. This beat his previous highest Senior Classic TT finish from 2016, where he finished 6^th.

The 2017 Isle of Man TT saw consistent form from Herbertson, finishing 21^st in the Superbike, Superstock and opening Supersport races. As well as this, he achieved a very credible 20^th in the Senior TT, where he lapped at 126.279mph. 23^rd place in the Lightweight race capped a very successful TT for Dominic and the future is looking very bright for the young man from the North West!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=0EQREnun53k%3Fstart%3D235%26feature%3Doembed%26%238221%3B

2018 season:

The 2018 Isle of Man TT was one of great consistency for Herbertson and although he recorded DNF’s in the Superbike and Senior races, in every other race he placed 14^th or above to further confirm his status as one of the brightest youngsters in the sport.

Dominic came 14^th in both the Supersport races, riding the WH Racing Yamaha, where he lapped at almost 124mph and went two places better in the Superstock TT where he crossed the line in 12^th, this time riding a 2015 BMW S1000RR, finishing just over 6 seconds behind Daley Mathison. He also improved his personal best lap speed to an impressive 127.808mph

‘Dom the Bomb’s’ best TT finish came in the Lightweight race, where he finished 10^th with an average race speed of 114.316mph in a race won by Michael Dunlop.

Dominic then returned to the Isle of Man for the Classic TT, where he achieved his first win in the Junior CTT race. Herbertson managed to finish ten seconds ahead of runner-up Jamie Coward riding a 1972 Honda CB 350 for Davies Motorsport.

Towards the back of the 2018 road racing season Herbertson was called up to the Dafabet Devitt Racing team for the Ulster GP and Macau GP. With adverse weather conditions at the Ulster GP, only two races were completed but Dominic again impressed, finishing seventh and eighth on his Dafabet Devitt Racing debut and posting a new personal best lap of the high-speed Dundrod circuit at 128.800mph. He said after the meeting:

“I was extremely grateful to be given the opportunity for the Ulster Grand Prix and hopefully I’ve done the team proud with my results. It’s obviously been a shame the weather resulted in two of our races being cancelled but I’ve got to be pleased with seventh and eighth place finishes and I was delighted to set my personal best lap. We had no testing prior to arriving here and the Kawasaki ZX-10R is very different to the BMW I normally ride but I got more and more comfortable with each and every lap and I learnt a lot. The bike handled perfectly and the team did an outstanding job so it’s been a great experience for me.”

Dominic then concluded his 2018 road racing season finishing 20^th on his first appearance at the challenging Macau course.

2019 season:

2019 saw Dominic join Davies Motorsport for the full season, the Classic racing specialists having their first foray into the International road races and modern bikes. At the 2019 Isle of Man TT Herbertson achieved two top 10 finishes, with his highest position coming in the Lightweight TT race where he finished 9^th with an average speed of 117.258mph. Dom’s other top 10 finish came in the Senior TT event in which he came 10^th, beating 11^th place Gary Johnson by over half a minute. Herbertson achieved his personal best lap of the Mountain Course in this race, with a speed of 129.587mph.

As well as these very impressive performances Herbertson achieved great results in the Superbike race as well as the Supersport encounters. He crossed the line in 13^th and 14^th place in the two Supersport races, as well as capping a consistent weekend with a 17^th place finish in the Superbike race.

The North West 200 saw mixed conditions across the two days of racing and Dominic’s solitary finish came in the first Supersport race when he took a solid 17^th place. Better weather at the Southern 100 saw him well to the fore and although he was forced to retire from the feature Championship race, he took a strong fifth in the opening Supersport race and backed this up with 8^th and 10^th in two of the Superbike races. He also lapped the 4.25-mile Billown circuit at more than 110mph for the first time with a lap of 110.490mph.

His best results though came in the two Supertwin races where, drafted into the Dafabet Devitt Racing team to replace the injured Paul Jordan, he won both encounters. Meanwhile, his good season continued at the Ulster Grand Prix where he took three top ten finishes in the Supersport races – 7^th, 9^th and 10^th – as well as claiming 12^th in the Superstock race.

He was unable to repeat his win of the previous year at the Classic TT but stood on the podium once more with 3^rd in the Junior Classic race and his season concluded at the Macau Grand Prix again with a solid 20^th place.

Career Achievements – at a glance:

• Isle of Man TT races debut in 2014 with a best result of 30^th (Lightweight TT race)
• Has now competed in 28 TT races, winning six silver and 17 bronze replicas
• Best finish to date of 9^th in the 2018 Lightweight race with ten top 20 finishes in total
• Took 10^th in the 2019 Senior race, recording a new personal best lap of 129.587mph, currently the 26^th fastest rider of all time
• 7^th, 9^th and 10^th 2019 Ulster Grand Prix Supersport races
• Two wins at the 2019 Southern 100
• 7^th, 2018 Ulster Grand Prix Superbike race, 8^th 2018 Ulster Grand Prix Superstock race – personal best lap of Dundrod circuit of 128.800mph
• 12^th and 14^th, 2017 Ulster Grand Prix Superbike races, 15^th, 2017 Ulster Grand Prix Superstock race
• 15^th x 2, 2018 North West 200 Superstock races
• 3^rd, 2019 Junior Classic TT
• 1^st, 2018 Junior Classic TT
• 4^th, 2017 Junior Classic TT
• 5^th, 2017 Senior Classic TT
• 6^th, 2016 Senior Classic TT

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