Isle of Man TT race winner James Hillier has saved his 2025 superbike and superstock campaign with a rescue deal from former team boss Alan Gardner.
Hillier will ride the Honda bikes he was originally set to race under the WTF Racing banner after all, but under new colours in his own Muc-Off Racing squad.
A complicated withdrawal for Gardner's WTF Racing not only from the TT but from the British Superbike series left Hillier and team-mate Dom Herbertson left without machinery only weeks ahead of this year’s event, which kicks off in two weeks' time.
However, it’s now been confirmed that both Hillier and Herbertson will still have access to the machinery from Gardner under an 11th-hour rescue deal for the pair.
“Given the situation I found myself in a few weeks ago, it’s worked pretty well,” said Hillier. “I struggled to believe it when I received the news from Alan, and it took a while for it all to sink in.
“Missing the TT was not an option so I soon got to work assessing all options just to see what competitive options I had.
“Alan and Paul from WTF have been very supportive and once I knew the Hondas would be made available, I started filling in the gaps, such as funding, logistics, team members, and the like.
“The bike and the mechanics are the key components so having my crew chief Alan and mechanics Dale and Jon on board is a huge asset.”
The news comes as a welcome relief for both Hillier and Herbertson - the pair having already both missed out on valuable track time at the North West 200.
“Obviously it came as a real shock when the team announced they were having to pull out this year,” added Herbertson, “and a real shame for the whole team and crew, too. They’d put in a huge amount of effort already, and I was just gutted for all the guys and girls involved.
“Thankfully though, Alan has managed to pull all the strings for me to supply the big bike, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
“I would have loved to have come to the TT with the full team behind me, but I’m also excited to get back to my roots in running my own little set-up, and really can’t wait to get going.”
The pair will also contest the supersport class as well, with Hillier reuniting with TT-winning team Bournemouth Kawasaki, while Herbertson will contest a Ducati V2 Panigale under his own Herbertson Road Racing Company team.
