KNEEN HAS TO SETTLE FOR SECOND FOUR TIMES
Although Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop took most of the headlines with their victories and lap records at this year’s Southern 100, Dan Kneen’s performances in all four superbike races highlighted the Manxman’s impressive progress. The 30-year-old, who claimed his first TT podium finish in this year’s Superstock race, matched the speed of Harrison and Dunlop to finish runnerup in all four Southern superbike races on his DTR BMW. “It has been a hot pace this week, but I have been able to match it, which I’m happy with given that the BMW is a completely stock bike running on treaded Metzelers,” Kneen smiled. The Braddan man felt the work he has put into his preparation for 2017 has paid off after finding himself without a ride at the start of the season when Mar-Train Yamaha withdrew from racing at the end of last year. He added: “A bunch of my own sponsors are helping me run the superstock BMW out of the back of a van with just one mechanic. “It doesn’t have to be all glammedup to be fast. I put a lot of work in at the start of the year going to short circuit
‘I’m running my superstock BMW out the back of a van’ DAN KNEEN
meetings. Everything has to fit together and you have got to get the set-up right with the BMW to be competitive.” Kneen was also drafted into the German Penz13.com BMW squad for the TT where he took a fine fifth in the Superbike race and 12th in the Senior. Kneen also scored his first win in the Penz livery at the IRRC race in Imatra a week before the Southern. After finishing runner-up in the Southern 100 feature race he concluded: “I’m a bit disappointed not to get a win here, but we did a 115.6mph lap and we can come back again next year and try again.”