Honda confirm 2024 TT and MW200 line-up
Honda Racing UK have confirmed a three-man team for their 2024 roads campaign, with Dean Harrison lining up alongside John McGuinness MBE and Nathan Harrison.
Dean Harrison joins the factory Honda team after a 7-year stint with DAO Racing and Kawasaki, with whom he took two of his three TT victories to date which included a triumphant Senior TT title in 2019.
1. Dean Harrison
2. Peter Hickman +53.062
3. Conor Cummins +58.879
While Peter Hickman has stamped his dominance on the Isle of Man in recent years, it has generally been Dean Harrison that has ran Hickman closest, and also been there to pounce when the BMW rider made any mistake or suffered any misfortune. The Kawasaki Dean has been racing though has been at a significant top speed disadvantage compared to Hickman’s BMW, and that is something the 34-year-old is hoping the Honda switch will redress.
Dean Harrison
“I can’t wait to begin a new chapter with Honda Racing UK and I jumped at the chance when this opportunity came about. If I’m honest, it hasn’t sunk in yet and I don’t think it will until I get to ride the bike for the first time in Honda colours.
“It feels like a really good time to have a refresh and now is as good a time as any for a change. I have always been a Honda fan, and Honda is the way I want to go. I am also really looking forward to being part of a multi-rider team after riding in a solo team for so long. To be able to see each other’s data and collaborate on ideas is going to be of great value to me. To work with John and Nathan, both of whom I have a great working relationship with, is really exciting. I think that the Honda package, with the new bike, could be the missing link that I need.”
Harrison will also race a Honda Superbike in the British Superbike Championship alongside Andrew Irwin.
Meanwhile, McGuinness continues his storied history with the Japanese manufacturer, having taken 16 of his 23 TT race victories with Honda and still running at the sharp end as he enters his thirty-fourth year in motorcycle racing.
Manxman Nathan Harrison completes the trio and, having missed the event in 2023 due to injury, is counting down the days to TT 2024.
The announcement coincides with the launch of a heavily updated CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP for the Superbike and Superstock classes, as well as the reintroduction of the CBR600RR to the British market in the Supersport category.
McGuinness has opted to focus solely on the 1000cc classes, whilst both Harrisons will also contest the two Monster Energy Supersport TT Races under the Honda Racing UK banner which returns to the class in an official capacity for the first time in several years.
Havier Beltran – Honda Racing UK Team Manager
“I am delighted to welcome all of our riders, those returning and joining us for the 2024 season. It is certainly going to be an extremely exciting year for Honda with our expanded rider line-up and growth into a variety of racing classes.
“I truly believe that our line-up perfectly balances youthful enthusiasm, experience, talent and ambition, and I eagerly look forward to witnessing Dean, John and Nathan compete with these new models. Dean is one of the most compelling riders to witness on the roads and I am confident that we can provide him with the machinery to showcase his remarkable talents.
“Keeping John for another year is simply brilliant, he and Honda share so much history and he brings so much to this team that continuing for another year was a very easy decision to make. 2023 was a tough year for Nathan but he never lost his determination or the smile on his face. This was always about progression, building into things and taking our time to grow together, continuing that journey with him will be fantastic.”
The return of the CBR600RR to the European market also sees the factory Honda team enter the British Supersport Championship for the first time since its title-winning year in 2009 as HM Plant Honda. This supersport machine has a hard-won racing pedigree of nine World and six British Supersport championships, and this heritage requires a rider of equal stature. So, joining the team for the 2024 campaign will be the most decorated supersport rider in the series’ history, four times British champion and fifty-nine times race winner, Jack Kennedy.
