Race ace Ian’s back on track

ISLE OF MAN TT star Ian Hutchinson will make a heroic comeback today when he lines up for the RST Superbike TT race, a year since he suffered his second serious leg break.

But the only man to have ever won five TT races in one week knows it is going to be a hard slog to get through six laps of the 37.73-mile Mountain Course in the first of this year’s races.

It took 18 months and

30 operations to recover from a horror smash in

2012 and then he damaged the same leg in a crash in the Senior TT last year.

But despite initial fears he would not race this year, he will line-up on the Honda Racing Fireblade today.

Hutchinson (inset) said: “It’s all starting to come together for me and the team now.

“I’m comfortable on the Fireblade and we’ll continue building on both bikes into the weekend.”

Hutchinson, 38, raced in the North West 200 last month just a week after having his leg’s external cage removed.

But he admits his chances of a TT win this year are slim.

He added: “It’s been a tough journey getting here, so a huge thanks to Honda for being so understanding.

“There hasn’t been any pressure from them.”

One man eyeing a win today is British Superbike regular Peter Hickman.

But he’ll have to battle hard with Dean Harrison, who has been quickest almost every session this week, while Michael Dunlop could also throw a spanner in the works.