Norton to race lightweight TT with MCN

Not only will Norton compete in the Superbike and Senior class at this year’s Isle of Man TT, but they’ll also be taking on the competitive Lightweight class in partnership with The British Motorcycle Manufacturing Academy with MCN’s Senior Road Tester and TT racer Adam ‘Chad’ Child at the helm.

The project will be primarily run by students on the apprenticeship program run by the BMMA at Norton HQ, Donington Park. It’s a unique opportunity for the students who’ll not only build the exciting new bike, but a select lucky few will travel with the Norton team to the TT to work on the lightweight bike alongside the factory team.

The project will use a proven Kawasaki ER-6 motor as like the majority of the field. Ohlins have already produced some bespoke suspension for the project; the BMMA race team are expected to start testing in the next few weeks.

Stuart Garner told MCN “It’s a great opportunity for the students who will work alongside the Norton race team. Chad will be on hand giving feedback developing the bike and the team, he’s obviously got extensive bike testing experience and knowledge of Lightweight class.”

Chad who’ll be competing in his forth TT, and has competed in every Lightweight race at the TT since the new class was introduced in 2012 is looking forward to the new project.

“It’s going to be really interesting to work with the students, together we have steep learning curve; the TT is the ultimate test. They have bags of enthusiasm it’s going to an exciting few weeks; it will be great to see young faces in the paddock actually working on the race bike.”