A top British Superstock Champioship rider has been watching Isle of Man TT action on DVD in preparation for his debut at the world-famous road racing event.
Steve Mercer will make his debut in 2009. The 27-year old is a well established rider in the British Championship paddock and, having dominated the 2006 MRO Superstock Championship, he moved into the British Championship proper in 2007.
With a career best sixth place finish, at Snetterton, the Maidstone rider ended his debut year in a fine 16th overall.
For 2008, he made the move into the British Superbike Championship and was one of the major contenders for the Privateers Cup, especially as he took a first and a third in the opening three races.
However, budget constraints meant he had to move back to the Superstock series – although he did deputise for the injured Stuart Easton on the MSS Kawasaki, again impressing greatly with two top 12 finishes at Knockhill.
For the second half of 2008, he returned to the British Superbike series and finished the year on a positive note with a strong ninth place at the final round at Brands Hatch.
Mercer was among some 16 riders from various British championships to visit the Isle of Man recently, as he considered making his TT debut. He will get his first taste of pure road racing at the forthcoming Macau Grand Prix, where he will ride for former TT winners Iain Duffus and Brian Morrison.
Speaking about his TT debut Mercer said:
‘The TT was not in my career plans until recently, but the more I’ve thought about it the more I want to do it.’
‘The visit to the Island in August was ideal preparation and the assistance given by Richard Quayle and John Barton was invaluable. I was really impressed with what I saw and we were given a great insight into the Mountain Course whilst we were also able to see some of the Manx GP, which was a real highlight.’
‘I watched at the bottom of Bray Hill and when the first bike came through, I thought to myself “I want some of that!”.’
‘Now I have the opportunity to come to the event, I am very excited and am working hard on learning the circuit.’
‘I’ve been studying DVD footage and have several trips planned to continue learning the circuit so I’m very excited about making my debut next year.’
‘Racing at Macau in November will give me my first taste of real road racing and I’ll be tapping into the TT expertise of Iain and Brian whilst I’m there.’