TT 2017: Debut podium for Manxman Kneen

Dan Kneen had local fans cheering yesterday as he stepped on to the TT podium for the first time after clinching third place yesterday’s Superstock race.

The Manxman has been having a strong week, consistently running in the top five on all three of his machines. If it hadn’t been for a 60 second penalty in Monday’s Supersport race for speeding in pit lane, he would have finished in the top five in all three races so far marking a strong week for the Penz13.com BMW and Jackson Racing Honda rider.

However, after the bad luck of two penalties earlier in the week things came together for Kneen in the stock race when he put the hammer down to secure his maiden TT podium, bringing it home behind fellow BMW riders Ian Hutchinson and Peter Hickman.

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“To be honest I was starting to think it would never happen for me,” Kneen told MCN after speaking as many of the large crowd of fans awaiting his autograph following the race.

“At my second ever TT I was running third and ended up breaking down and then another race got red flagged when I was running third. Every time I was going well it didn’t seem to happen for me so I had a few low years really of not doing as good as I should have been and not being comfortable really and having a team behind me.

“The past few years I’ve changed my way of thinking, you can’t do it all on your own, no matter how hard you try you won’t be able to do it and do need the team there. It’s good to do it on the DTR bike as it’s my own little bike and we’ve just been running about out of the back of my Dad’s painting van all year like a right bunch of gypos! It’s been hard work to be honest, so to do it like that is brilliant. We’ve done what we needed and that’s it.”

Pick up a copy of our special edition McGuinness: Ordinary bloke. Extraordinary Racer. This special from MCN, celebrates the career of one of the sport’s best-loved road racers. Affectionately known as McPint, John’s career has wowed and entertained bike racing fans for more than 20 years. Buy it here. 

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