The Fourth Man

Dan Kneen is aiming to be just the fourth Manx winner of a TT race and now that he's signed for one of the biggest teams in the paddock, he's never had a better chance of fulfilling his lifelong dream.

Words: Stuart Barker

In the 110-year history of the Isle of Man TT races, only three Manxmen have won their nation's greatest sporting event. Only three men have experienced the exquisite sensation of climbing to the very top step of the TT podium in Glencrutchery Road to the deafening applause of their fellow countrymen and women. Only three have been able to say they have beaten the best road racers on the planet in front of their families and friends and on the very roads on which they first learned to ride.

            The first was Tommy Sheard, as far back as 1922, when the TT was still in its relative infancy. He won the Junior race on a 350cc AJS at an average speed of 54.75mph. Sheard's victory was followed by an agonising 45-year wait for local TT fans before Neil Kelly delivered the next Manx win, this time in the 1967 Production 500 TT at an average speed of 89.89mph. The last local rider to win a TT was Richard 'Milky' Quayle (now a TT rider liaison officer) who won the 2002 Lightweight 400 race at an average speed of 109.27mph.

Tommy Sheard

Neil Kelly

Richard 'Milky' Quayle

            That was 16 years ago. In the intervening years there have been some fabulous efforts from local riders like Gary Carswell, Paul Hunt and, of course, Conor Cummins, but although there have been podiums, no Manxman has managed to win a TT since Quayle.

            But that could all be about to change.

            Braddan's Dan Kneen has been a coming force in international road racing for several years now but he really only showed his true potential last year when he took his first TT podium in the Superstock race. He also performed so well as a stand-in rider for Tyco BMW at the Ulster Grand Prix that he was signed up to ride for the team full-time in 2018. That means the 30-year-old now has the best bikes, team, and support of his entire career and that should give him everything he needs to become just the fourth Manxman to win a TT race.

Dan with his partner, Leanne Harper

            Few motorcycle racers get to grow up riding on the very roads they will later chase international race victories on but Kneen was one of the lucky ones. 'I started out with a Yamaha TZR125 road bike but I was getting a bit out of hand on the roads with my mates' he says. 'We used to ride all over the Island but mostly we did laps of the TT Course. I borrowed a 400cc bike from a mate one year and did two laps of the Course every single night of TT fortnight – I couldn't get enough of it!'

Kneenja: 'On the pipe boy!' 

            Despite this addiction, Kneen says entering the TT was never really part of the plan. 'I just didn't think I'd be any good at it!' he laughs. 'I wanted to have a go at the Manx though because I was getting too wild on the roads – trying to get my knee down with my mates everywhere – it was obviously going to end in tears. So I said I was going to try racing and I remember my mate wasn't happy about that because I'd have to sell my road bike and he wanted a riding buddy!'

            After entering his first race at the Jurby Airfield circuit in the north of the Island in late 2005, Kneen won the 400cc Isle of Man championship the following year before coming under the wing of Carl Fogarty's former mechanic, Anthony 'Slick' Bass. After helping Foggy to win four World Superbike titles, Bass set up his own tuning business on the Island and loaned Kneen a Kawasaki ZX-6R for the 2007 season. 'Slick really helped me right from the start of my career with bikes, engines, advice and support' says Kneen. 'I didn't have a clue when I started out and I remember rocking up at his workshops in my dad's little Vauxhall Astra with an engine in bits in the boot and asking Slick to build it for me. I'm sure he was thinking “Oh bloody hell – who's this clown?” But he was brilliant right from the start and even now I still talk to him a lot about my bikes and my racing and still get great advice. He's got so much knowledge that you can't help but learn from him.'

With his best pal and mentor, Tony 'Slick' Bass

            Sadly, that 2007 season was a bit of a shambles, though Kneen happily shoulders the blame. 'I had a terrible year - I was just riding rubbish and crashing all the time. I had a bit of a rethink for 2008 and started entering some races in the UK to get more experience on different tracks. I bought my own Yamaha R6 and did three Superstock 600 races at the British Superbike Championship rounds. I even did one on my own when my mate had to pull out. Drove the van over, did all my own spannering, rode the bike, slept in the van, drove it back – I did everything myself but it brought me on a lot. I then went back to Jurby, just before the 2008 Manx Grand Prix, and hammered everybody on my 600 so I was really finding my form and felt confident going into the Manx that year.'

            That confidence was not misplaced. After just four laps of practice, Kneen was third fastest overall, and it seemed those endless laps on his TZ125 road bike had paid dividends. 'I suppose it was quite handy when I first raced at the Manx, just because I knew which way the Course went, but with the pace you have to ride at to be near the front in a TT now, road laps don't really help.'

            Kneen became the first newcomer in history to win three MGP's in a week (Newcomers Race C, Ultra-Lightweight and Junior). His brother Ryan also won the Newcomers Race A, making it four wins for the family in a week.

            A plumber by trade, Kneen has raced at the TT since 2009 but often with mixed results. Despite showing promise on occasion and having lapped at over 130mph on a Superstock machine, he only found the podium for the first time last year with third place in the RL360 Quantum Superstock race. 'It's something I should have done many years ago' Kneen says. 'I was running third in one of the Supersport races in only my second TT but then sort of lost my way for a bit, but things have come good and I've got my confidence back and I'm feeling good now. Getting a podium does help with your confidence as a rider but so many things have to be right to be competitive at the TT and if one little thing isn't right then everything's going to be against you. I've always known I can do it but it's just having the equipment and the back-up to make it happen. I've had some good bikes in the past but didn't always get enough time on them ahead of the TT so I wasn't confident enough to push as hard as I know I can.'

            That's all changed for 2018 with Kneen now signed to Tyco BMW – one of the biggest teams in the road racing paddock. It's by far Kneen's biggest opportunity to date and it means he'll have not only the bikes to do the job, but also the best support available. 'When you ride for a big team like Tyco BMW then you know that no stone will be left unturned – the team just do so much for you. I noticed the difference between big teams and smaller teams when I rode for Tyco at the Ulster Grand Prix last year. It's not just that the bike's better and has all the best parts on it, but it's also set up better because the team has tested so much they know what works. And you have hugely experienced mechanics and data men fighting your corner too so it all helps.'

The Tyco BMW deal was Dan's big chance to shine and he fully intended to take it

            The Tyco team will only be running Kneen at this year's TT so all their efforts will be focused on him and getting his S1000RR set up to his liking to give him the best possible chance of finally winning a TT. Another bonus is that Kneen is no stranger to the BMW, having ridden the bike for the Penz13.com team last year. 'I like the S1000RR. It doesn't stand out in any one area at the TT, it's just a good base package that works well everywhere. You don't even have to do much to the standard bike to make it competitive.'

            Kneen proved that by setting his fastest ever lap of the TT Course (130.34mph) on a Superstock version of the bike in 2017. And he knows there's more to come. 'Even when I set my fastest lap I had a few problems so didn't really get a clean run at it. I've recorded individual sector times that are faster so I know I can lap faster if I can string it all together.'

            And if he does string it all together - and speaks nicely to the Manx Fairies down at Fairy Bridge - what would it mean to him to become just the fourth Manxman in 110 years to win a TT race? 'Oh, it would just be the ultimate dream to win a TT' he says.' And to do it as a Manxman would just be brilliant – especially with the way the TT is now. It's so competitive that you have to be on the absolute top of your game to win. With all the BSB riders and experienced road racers, the level is so high at the TT now so that would make it even more special.' 

The Magnificent Seven

To say that Dan Kneen comes from a racing family is a bit of an understatement. His dad Richard, his brother Ryan, and his four uncles on his dad's side (Norman, Phil, Kenny and Mike) have all raced in either the TT or the Manx – and they weren't just there to make up the numbers. 'My brother won a Manx the same year I did and my uncle Norman has won two Manx GP's - a modern 250 two-stroke race and a classic 250 race. His twin brother Mike won the Junior MGP in 1978 and I won the same race exactly 30 years later. In fact, I think my dad and his four brothers were all in the same race together at the Manx one year which must be some sort of record!'

What it Means

Richard 'Milky' Quayle was the last Manxman to win a TT, taking the Lightweight 400 race in 2002. Now a TT rider liaison officer, Milky explains just how much it meant to him.

Richard 'Milky' Quayle: the last Manx-born winner of a TT

''I'd take that single TT win over a MotoGP world championship any day! It was the proudest moment of my entire life. When I won, it was like the kid who wins the golden ticket in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory! It's my local race and for people like me and Dan Kneen, it's our life – it's our whole world, so winning a TT is the one thing we dream of doing.

            'When you're leading a TT, people start waving like mad right from Quarterbridge on the last lap – but there's still more than 30 miles to go so you have to stay focused. It's such a distraction so I just concentrated on my pit boards and tried to shut all the rest out. It was crazy. When I got to Ballacraine on the last lap I thought there had been a big crash because the crowd was waving so frantically. Then I realised they were actually cheering me on rather than trying to warn me to slow down!

            'Winning a TT was sensational; the ultimate, just the best thing in the world - like winning the lottery. After the race, everything becomes a blur. There are so many people congratulating you that you feel like you're in a washing machine, getting tumbled and tossed from one person to another. You don't know what's going on! I don't drink but I didn't need to that night – I was completely intoxicated by the atmosphere.

            'It's time we had another Manx winner. Dan's a great rider and is now on a great bike and of course Conor Cummins will be back on the Padgett's Hondas so we really stand a great chance of finally seeing a fourth home win for the Isle of Man.'

The Fastest Manxman

In recent years Conor Cummins has been the great white hope amongst Manx TT fans. The Ramsey man is the eighth fastest rider of all time around the TT Course with his best lap being 131.67mph. A win for Cummins looked a dead cert in 2010 until he had a massive crash on The Verandah that resulted in months of hospital treatment and recuperation. He came back strong and has taken an impressive six podiums (four thirds and two seconds) in total but the win has always just eluded him. Cummins will ride for Padgett's Honda this year and is still well capable of a victory so Dan Kneen may have a bit of competition on his hands if he wants to be the fourth Manxman to win a TT!

Another Manx hero, Conor Cummins 

 Manx TT Winners

1922: Tom Sheard wins the Junior TT on a 350cc AJS

1967: Neil Kelly wins the Production 500 TT on a Velocette

2002: Richard 'Milky' Quayle wins the Lightweight 400 TT on a Honda

* Dan Kneen tragically lost his life on May 30 during practice for the Isle of Man TT when he lost control of his machine at Churchtown corner. This article was originally published in the 2018 Official Isle of Man TT Programme and was written before Michael Dunlop joined the Tyco BMW team as Dan Kneen's team-mate. .