Avon hits the roads at annual TT Mecca

Avon tires will be the only tire manufacturer to have products in all classes of this year’s TT supporting both solo and sidecar racers. Avon is supporting three solo race teams at this year’s Isle of Man TT event – JHS Racing, Dave Molyneux Racing and Mark Parrett.
 
The trio will all race on Avon’s acclaimed 3D Ultra Xtreme tires on the legendary 37-mile Mountain Circuit, acknowledged as the ultimate motorcycle road racing challenge.
 
Avon - the only tire manufacturer to design and build motorcycle tires in the UK - has a rich heritage in all forms of motorsport, but particularly in motorcycle racing, where its products have been used by luminaries such as Barry Sheene and John Surtees.
 
As well as its strong entry in the solo classes, Avon will again be supporting sidecar ace, Dave Molyneux as he aims to add to his tally of 16 TT wins this year, after a disappointing 2013 campaign. Avon will also feature in the TT Zero electric bike class, with Dave Moffitt competing on its rubber in the one-lap race for cutting-edge, battery-powered superbikes.
 
Avon Motorcycle’s global sales manager, Doug Ross, said: “Being the only tire maker building products in the UK makes us totally in tune with the needs of a supersports tire for British roads. The Isle of Man TT races are no stranger to wet weather, mixed conditions and a host of other challenges, such as white lines, street markings and even the odd manhole cover.”
 
The JHS team has tasted success on the Island recently, when rider Dave Moffitt claimed the Supertwin title at the Manx GP in 2011. The team is going for glory on Suzukis this year: its immaculately-set-up GSX-R1000 in the Superbike race, a GSX-R600 in Supersport and a Gladius in the Supertwin class.
 
Ryan Kneen will be riding on Kawasakis for Dave Molyneux Racing and will be hoping his ZX-10R can replicate the success the big Ninja has enjoyed in WSB and BSB of late in the TT Superbike class – he will also be campaigning a smaller Ninja, the ZX-6R, in the Supersport round.
 
Last, but not least, Mark Parrett is riding a BMW S1000RR in Superbike, a Yamaha R6 in Supersport, and a Kawasaki ER-6 in the Supertwin class.
 
In sidecars, the change to open engine rules should give Molyneux and passenger Patrick Farrance the speed in their Kawasaki powered outfit that they lacked last year compared to their Honda-engined rivals.
 
John Holden and Andy Winkle are also back with a brand new LCR to try and win their second TT, while Conrad Harrison and Mike Aylott will be looking for their first victory after a second and a third last year.