Manxman Daniel Kneen hopes a good run at the North West 200 will bring in more support as he bids for success at the 2010 Isle of Man TT.
The plumber enjoyed an amazing debut at his home event in 2009, finishing well in the Superbike, Superstock and opening Supersport races – including a top 10 finish in the Superstock event.
His TT came to a premature end when wet conditions in the second Supersport race caught him out.
The Braddan man is back for the 2010 TT and determined to improve on last year’s performances. However, the 22-year-old admits competing at the TT doesn’t come cheap and he hopes his NW200 run will bring in some extra backing.
In the first Superbike race at the Northern Irish international road race, Kneen finished 11th on his K7 Marks Bloom/Slick performance 1000CC Suzuki, just behind Ian Hutchinson. In the 600cc Supersport race he clinched 10th position, beating established stars Ian Lougher, Adrian Archibald and Bruce Anstey.
The second Supersport race saw him finish in 12th, just failing to get past Lougher. A great weekend was rounded off by 18th place, just ahead of James Hiller, in the 1000cc Superstock race, riding his new West London Suzuki K10 for the first time.
Kneen said:
“It was great to come here and be up towards the front with all the big teams. We are just a small privateer team and run on a shoestring compared to most of them.”
“I thank all my sponsors for their help, but just hope we can attract some more financial help for the TT as the cost to run three bikes with the right tyres etc is pretty hard going!”