By You could sense the relief for Honda Racing’s David Johnson, after finishing third in last Thursday’s Royal London 360 Superstock race, as the popular Australian finally joined the TT podium finishers circle.
Having come close on various occasions to banking a coveted TT rostrum placing, the reduced in distance three lap Superstock encounter saw ‘Davo’ overhaul none other than 19 times TT winner Michael Dunlop, to finish third by just 0.208 of a second.
Photo by Nick Wheeler
Formerly part of the Smiths Racing, Gulf BMW and works Norton set up’s, his third place finish was Honda Racing’s first podium finish at the TT Races in three years.
Speaking prior to Superstock competition, Adelaide’s Johnson gave a candid insight into how he’s gelled into the works squad, detailing what it’s like to work with such a respected, acclaimed and successful outfit.
“My side it’s all pretty much hand picked, all the guys I wanted, which is good, so it’s just getting everything working together with the team and the hierachy.
It’s different just cause it is a factory team, you’ve gotta sort of go through a lot of different people to get a job done, which isn’t a bad thing, it always gets done.
It’s good I’m happy, and yeah the bosses are good, got Norris Farrow in my corner, he’s a fellow antipodean, I’m happy working with him, he’s a great guy, and he wants the best for me, he wants improvement as well, looks to see were I’m struggling, and I tell him why I’m struggling, and we work from there.
But the bottom line is getting comfortable on the bike, so I can do over 130 mph laps, first lap out.”
Photo by Mark Corlett
Alongside his momentous top three finish, Johnson’s first TT venture as a factory Honda rider also yielded a seventh place finish in the RST Superbike race, plus solid 14th, 10th place finishes within the two lap Monster Energy Supersport races.
Set to return to Manx shores in August for the Classic TT, to pilot Alasdair Cowan’s ZXR 750 Kawasaki, the remainder of Johnson’s 2019 race itinerary also includes tackling again the Ulster Grand Prix, aboard the works Honda’s in Supersport, Superstock and Superbike trim.
Words by Stevie Rial
