TT 2025 looks set to rock the island...

The 2024 Isle of Man TT Races were amazing, with some good, fast and safe racing creating yet more history.

Michael Dunlop became the most decorated TT racer of all-time, surpassing his late great uncle Joey as he moved on to 29 wins, while Davey Todd wrote his name among the legends as he took his first two victories around the legendary 37.73-mile Mountain course – including the blue riband Senior TT.

We at Entire Cover were delighted to be involved with the races, being the event’s insurance partner and sponsoring Supertwin TT Race 2. This year we’re doing it all again and, you know what, we can’t wait!

But as we’re just gonna HAVE to wait, we’ll spend the next few months looking forward to the highlight of our racing year. Now we know what most of the star riders will be up to, we’re even more giddy with excitement. Missed the news? Here’s what we know so far…

FHO Racing, BMW’s official team and multiple winners in the past with Peter Hickman, have signed Senior TT winner Davey Todd to replace Josh Brookes and create a TT super team. Hicky and Toddy will race short circuits together too, in the British Superbike Championship, and will be a force to be reckoned with on the roads and in BSB.

Todd is also confirmed to race in the Supersport and Supertwin classes for the legendary Padgett’s of Batley team. He’ll run a Honda CBR600RR in Supersport, and we’re excited to see what he can do on the all-conquering Paton in the Entire Cover Supertwin TT.

We expect Hicky to continue with the ever-improving Yamaha R7 in the ‘twins – hopefully still with the gorgeous Swan livery we displayed on our stand at Motorcycle Live back in November. That’s still to be confirmed though…

Michael Dunlop won both Supertwin TTs last year on a Paton. As we’ve said before (and will undoubtedly say again) the brilliant Mickey D became the greatest TT racer of all time last year, overtaking his late, great, uncle Joey’s once seemingly unsurpassable record of 26 wins. Michael ended the week on 29 victories, and will seemingly be a shoe in to hit 30 in 2025.

As always, maverick Michael is playing his cards close to his chest. The 35-year-old always seems to go best away from the big corporate teams and it would be reasonable to expect him to once again run his own programme.

He’s had enormous success working with his friends at Hawk Racing in the Superbike and Senior TTs, running their Honda Fireblades alongside his own stable of bikes in the other classes: ‘blades in the Superstock races and his trusty Paton in the ‘twins – but with Michael… who knows!

He’s dumped teams in the middle of practice week in the past and last year he was even slated to run a Triumph in his own team colours but dropped it early in practice week and brought out his trusty Yamaha R6 – on which he blitzed both races.

He’s been testing a Ducati Panigale V2 over the winter months, suggesting he’ll race that in the middleweight class this year but, as we said already, who knows? Could the old Yamaha be dragged out the van once again? Will the Triumph get a second chance? Or is the Ducati testing a sign that we could see MD join a big team once again as he goes for a new challenge?

One top team we’ve not yet mentioned is TAS Racing. They’re the reigning Senior TT champions, having powered Todd to victory under the Milwaukee BMW banner. They’ve confirmed they’ll be back on the roads this year but, having split with BMW and moved to Ducatis on the short circuits, the riders and equipment remain unknown.

The Northern Irish outfit ran a Panigale V2 for Davey last year, with quite some success, and (putting two and two together) there’s every chance they’ll run Dunlop in the middleweight class to create a Northern Irish superteam.

TAS will be running a Panigale V4 in British Superbikes and a V2 in British Supersport, making us think we might even see a Ducati V4 on the island this year? And is it wishful thinking that it will have a massive, massive star on board? The biggest star, perhaps? Watch this space!

One team we know won’t be chopping and changing between brands or riders is the Honda UK backed Honda Racing team. They’ve slimmed down to a two-rider squad in 2025, retaining Dean Harrison and the now 52-year-old John McGuinness.

Deano’s a good lad with three TT wins to his credit, including the 2019 Senior. He had a solid year in 2024 and if anyone’s going to knock Dunlop, Hickman or Todd off the podium, it’ll likely be the popular Yorkshireman.

Veteran McGuinness would love one last TT podium, having stood on the top step no less than 23-times, and while (by his own admission_ he’s not quite able to match the top four on outright pace these days, he can be there to pick up the pieces and is still a genuine 130mph man – almost 30 years after making his debut on the island.

McGuinness’ story is typical of the TT. While there can only ever be one winner in each race, much like a marathon runner, every TT sees the competitors battling to meet their own goals. While McGuinness strives to stand on that famous podium once more, all around him competitors look to set their personal best lap times or grab another replica trophy for the mantlepiece.

One rider who will definitely fancy his chances of challenging the big four for a win is Josh Brookes. The Australian, a former British Superbike Champion, came second in last year’s Senior TT – albeit after retirements for Dunlop and Hickman – and he’s got enough Mountain course experience under his wheels cause an upset this year. He’ll be riding Hondas for Jackson Racing, one of the top privateer squads, in the Superbike, Superstock and Supersport TTs.

Other interesting rider moves includes Conor Cummins, who will race a BMW M 1000 RR for the Burrows Engineering by RK Racing squad in the big bike races, as well as a Ducati Panigale V2 in the supersport outings.

The Manxman endured a torrid year on the Padgett’s Honda Fireblade last year, and he’s pumped at the challenge. The big man is one of the fastest riders never to win a TT, and he’s determined to change that before he retires. A local rider on the podium? It’s possible, and will surely send the crowd wild!

Look out too for Jamie Coward, who continues his relationship with the KTS Racing team with whom he seems to progress every year. The big bearded Yorkshireman is a super consistent top six runner and will be hoping KTS’ switch from Honda to BMW will bear fruit in the big bike classes. The BMW has been the bike of choice on the roads in recent years, and they’ve purchased one of the best.

Brave Coward will have an ex-Josh Brookes M 1000 RR under his awning while, in supersport, he will stick with the Triumph on which he finished fourth last year, albeit with additional manufacturer support. KTS are also planning on running Coward in the Metzeler and Entire Cover Supertwin TTs, meaning they’ll be present in all eight solo races.

Despite his size, big Jamie has shown his best results in the lightweight class, scoring second in 2019 and third in 2023, although it’s not yet known if the team will soldier on with their trusty Kawasaki or switch to an alternative brand.

We’re also expecting some good things from the WTF Racing team, who have expanded to two riders for their second go at the TT. The professional squad, who are closely linked to the British Superbike Championship winning OMG Racing team, run Hondas at the TT and have signed likable Geordie Dominic Herbertson alongside the retained James Hillier.

Hillier is one of the most consistent riders around the island, a regular top five finisher, while Herbertson is a recent member of the 130mph club and scored his first podium in the Supertwins last year. Dom the Bomb is a real fan favourite and is set to make his 50^th TT start in 2025.

So many exciting stories and that’s barely scratched the surface. We’ve yet to mention the sidecars or the plucky privateers, but with almost four months until the bikes get flagged off down Glencrutchery Road for first practice, we’re sure there will be plenty of opportunities to talk about them in a future blog.

As the proud insurance partner of the Isle of Man TT Races, we’re committed to bringing you all the latest news and updates from this year’s event. Make sure you follow us on social media and bookmark our blog. We’ll get you closer to the action at TT 2025.