The Superstock TT is the race that manufacturers want to win the most. Widely considered to offer more of a level playing field, it is also the race where raw talent is more noticeable.
You don’t have to be with the biggest team or have the biggest budget to succeed in the superstock division, and this year will be no exception
There’s a quiet irony in calling the Superstock TT a ‘stock’ race. Because beneath the fairings of these production-based machines lies a class that’s anything but ordinary. Superstock is where raw horsepower meets relentless evolution – a battleground where road racing’s sharpest riders let their showroom beasts off the leash.
The class has grown leaner, meaner, and faster than anyone could have imagined. Two decades ago, the Production TT lagged behind its Superbike cousin. Today it’s the class that holds the outright TT lap record.
With manufacturers like BMW, Honda, and Kawasaki locked in a Cold War of development – and a rider line-up bristling with ambition – Superstock serves up a one-two punch of adrenaline that other classes may struggle to match.
THE PEOPLE’S RACE
In a TT fortnight often dominated by headline-grabbing Superbikes, the Superstock TT remains the people’s race. These are the machines closest to showroom spec – the same bikes you could, in theory, ride straight out of a dealership. With a subsequent tweak or two, you could even hit Josh Brookes-level speeds through the Sulby Straight... though we’ll leave that to the pros. The Manx constabulary would no doubt agree.
Despite their road-legal roots, these bikes have become potent weapons. In the hands of TT gladiators, they’re brutally fast – yet more forgiving over the bumps and jumps of the 37.73-mile course than their thoroughbred Superbike cousins. The result? A new breed of machine: one capable of stealing the outright lap record from its traditional home in the Superbike and Senior ranks.
The new three-lap format only cranks up the pressure. There’s no time to ease into the race, and certainly no room for a comeback from even the smallest overshoot. Remember Peter Hickman’s little detour at Braddan? Riders must be on the pace from the first twist of the wrist, execute a surgically precise pit stop, and somehow nurse a single rear tyre through 113 miles of full-throttle racing.
No tyre change. No margin for error. No place to hide.
PROOF
In 2024 Davey Todd turned promise into proof. Dominating the British Superstock Championship and converting that form into TT glory, he stormed to his first TT win in the Superstock class – then doubled up in the Senior. It was a masterclass in momentum, and it felt like a moment: the day the big three became the big four.
2025 marks a new chapter. Todd returns to the island as a double TT winner – no longer the hunter, but now one of the hunted. Gone is the familiar red of the Milwaukee backed BMW. In its place: the sharp blue and white of 8TEN Racing. It’s a bold move, both for Todd and his new stablemate, Peter Hickman. And while the spotlight burns brighter than ever, they arrive on the island knowing exactly what they – and their German machines – are capable of.
Todd and Hickman aren’t the only ones betting big on Bavaria, with the BMW M 1000 RR remaining the weapon of choice for a growing number of podium contenders. Even the ever-contrarian Michael Dunlop looks set to put his legendary adaptability to the test with a late switch to BMW.
It’s not so common to see the 29-time TT winner lining up on the same machinery as his fiercest rivals, but by making the move, the canny Dunlop has also neutralised any real advantage Todd and Hickman might have held over the Ballymoney man, had he stuck with the Honda.
BMW BLOC
OLD RIVALS RETURN TO BMW POWER
Dunlop first teamed up with the German manufacturer back in 2014, when he famously took a stunning Senior TT win on the Hawk Racing BMW. That victory came exactly 75 years after BMW’s last triumph in the iconic race, when Georg Meier made headlines.
Fast forward to 2016, and Dunlop was back at it, doing the double with wins in both the Superbike and Senior TTs aboard a Hawk Racing-prepped BMW S1000RR. Not only did he take the top step twice, but he also made headlines by smashing the sub-17-minute barrier for a lap of the 37.73-mile Mountain Course – and clocked the first-ever 133mph average lap in the process.
Around the same time, Ian Hutchinson, so often a thorn in Dunlop’s side, was establishing himself as the undisputed king of Superstock, racking up no fewer than four wins in the class. Still hungry, still a serious threat, the 16-time winner is also making a long-anticipated return to BMW machinery, teaming up with Michael Laverty’s new outfit alongside Ireland’s Mike Browne, who makes his debut as a top-ten seeded rider
HONDA HOPE
RED-MEN LEAD THE RESISTANCE
It’s not all one-way traffic. Honda Racing UK is still fielding some serious heavy hitters, led by Dean Harrison, who’s heading into his second year with the factory squad. He may ‘only’ have three wins to his name, but with more than 30 podiums under his belt, Harrison brings a wealth of experience that few can match. That record speaks for itself – and if the updated Fireblade hits the sweet spot, he’s a genuine contender.
And what about John McGuinness MBE? Still proudly holding the coveted number 1 plate, the ever-popular legend remains the first man to roar down Bray Hill. While few expect him to be in the thick of the podium fight, his experience and unwavering passion for the TT make him the emotional heartbeat of the grid.
Honda will, however, be disappointed to see two of the TT’s top seeds jump ship to join the growing BMW contingent. Jamie Coward is a rider who believes the Bavarian machine is perfectly suited to his style, while local favourite Conor Cummins lines up in the colours of Burrows Engineering / RK Racing for the very first time
FATE & FORTUNA
HONDA’S DARK HORSES HOPE FOR A BIG BREAK
Local star Nathan Harrison is one of many young riders who grew up idolising McGuinness. After a brief stint alongside his hero at Honda Racing, the young Manxman now returns to his privateer roots – though still with Honda support – running under the H&H Motorcycles banner. After injuries derailed key moments in his rise, 2025 could finally be his breakout year, if he can just get a clean run.
Also waiting patiently for a big break is Josh Brookes, who makes the switch to Honda power with Jackson Racing by Prosper2. Brookes wrapped up his 2024 TT campaign as runner-up to Davey Todd in the four-lap Senior, making it two podiums in two years. But despite being hailed as one of the most talented riders of his generation, outright TT victory has so far eluded him. Now back for a third consecutive year, could 2025 be his moment?
But that’s the beauty of any TT race. For some, it’s the shot at another win – the difference between 29 and 30. For others, it’s the chance to claim that elusive first TT trophy. And for many, it’s simply one more opportunity to take on the Mountain Course and prove themselves on the sport’s biggest stage.
Whatever fuels each rider, the TT remains the ultimate test of man and machine – and arguably, the Superstock class, with its roots in the production races of the early 20th century, is the purest form of all.
STRATEGY
SPEED NOT THE ONLY INGREDIENT
The Superstock races might be shorter, but they demand a different kind of mastery – a blend of raw speed and razor-sharp strategy. Tanks are brimmed, fuel flow rates are measured to the decimal, and pit stops are rehearsed down to the second. One small mistake can be the difference between a podium and a pit lane heartbreak.
And then there’s tyre management. With no rear tyre change allowed, the same piece of rubber that launches the rider off the line must survive 50 minutes of relentless punishment. That’s why teams have been working closely with manufacturers to develop compounds that can take the heat – both literal and metaphorical.