QUADRUPLE FOR MISTRAL RACING
Lancashire-based Mistral Racing will return to the Manx Grand Prix in August with an impressive four-rider line-up set to contest the four-lap Classic Superbike race.
David Johnson, Paul Jordan, Michael Sweeney and Joe Yeardsley complete the powerful looking squad with all four riding immaculate ZX-R 750cc Kawasaki’s which will again run in the striking green, red and white colours made famous by Kawasaki France in the 1980s and 90’s.
Run by former racer Ian Harrison, Mistral Racing have featured heavily in the race for more than a decade with Peter Hickman, Davey Todd, Jamie Coward, Steve Mercer and Dan Kneen amongst their former riders.
Fourth with Mercer in 2014 and fifth three years later with Kneen are their best results to date but they will be more than hopeful of stepping on the podium this year with the team assembled.
Johnson will, arguably, be their greatest threat, the Australian having won the race in 2019 and finished second and third in the last two years when riding a similar Kawasaki for Alasdair Cowan Racing. Now fully recovered from the injuries that curtailed his Isle of Man TT Races campaign, Johnson has a best lap of 125.540mph in the class which puts him firmly in amongst the category of potential race favourites.
Northern Ireland’s Jordan first rode for the team at the 2018 Classic TT, riding for them every year since and after a run of bad luck finally saw the chequered flag twelve months ago with a fine seventh place finish. With a best lap well in excess of 122mph, the former TT podium finisher will be confident of featuring high up the leaderboard again in a month’s time.
Sweeney joined the team a year later and took a strong sixth place in both 2019 and 2022 so will be expecting a similar result this time around.
The same should apply to Manxman Yeardsley who although only in his second year of competition around the Mountain Course has already impressed greatly.
Winner of last year’s Senior race, Yeardsley enjoyed a strong debut campaign at the TT earlier this year and is familiar with the Mistral Kawasaki having already won races on it at both the Pre-TT Classic, Billown and Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough races.
The Classic Superbike race is scheduled to take place on Monday August 26th and will again bring the curtain down on this year’s programme.
If you want to see the Mistral Racing massive and the rest of the MGP entry take to the Mountain Course this year, check out Duke Travel for packages from the UK and further afield, Horst Saiger for German Tours and the Isle of Man Steam Packet for race day day trips.
