Conor Cummins
After a summer of sickness and a winter of soul searching, Conor Cummins is set to return to the start lines of the Isle of Man TT and North West 200 in Milenco Padgett’s Honda colours for 2024.
The 37-year-old suffered one of his toughest TTs last season when he was hospitalised mid-event by a debilitating virus that left him ill and exhausted. The man from Ramsey had already been forced to pull out of the North West 200 a fortnight earlier when he injured his knee after clouting a kerb during the opening night of racing.
Drawing upon the remarkable tenacity he displayed in overcoming the serious injuries he suffered in a massive 2010 Senior TT crash, Cummins battled back after missing qualifying and the opening Supersport and Superbike races to claim two brilliant fourth place finishes in last year’s second Superstock and Senior TT races.
“I had a virus that left me without any strength and I was in hospital with a drip hanging out of me,” the Manxman recalls.
“The illness was a real kick in the bollocks because my whole year is built around the TT. I felt so weak, but I threw myself into those last couple of races.”
Despite his remarkable fightback, Cummins says the experience forced him to “take some time to assess where I was and what I wanted to do in racing”.
“It is a lot to ask to be competitive at the TT and on the roads so I took my time and didn’t rush into anything,” he explains.
“I had reached a stage in my racing where I wanted to really understand where I was and what I wanted to do. I wanted to make sure
I was happy and had a package that will give me the best chance to win. Clive put a mega offer on the table for me and I am glad to be back in the Milenco Padgett’s team for 2024. It is just solid.”
Cummins has enjoyed a stellar roads career over almost two decades of competition. He made his road racing debut at the 2006 NW200 and served a major part of his road racing apprenticeship in Ireland with the McAdoo, JMF Millsport and TAS Racing teams.
By 2009 he had laid claim to being the fastest road racer in the world when he lapped the Dundrod course
‘I had a virus that left me without any strength’
at 133.284mph on a McAdoo Kawasaki ZX-10R on his way to winning the Dundrod 150 Superbike race.
But his seemingly inexorable progress was derailed when he suffered serious injuries in a huge crash during the following year’s Senior TT. Although there would be more success at the Ulster GP where he claimed his last major victory on the roads in the 2018 Supersport race, the rider has yet to stand on the top step of the podium at the NW200, Isle of Man TT or Macau.
After lapping the Mountain course at 133.116mph on his way to his 12th TT podium during the 2022 Senior TT, Cummins became the fastest TT rider on a Honda but Michael Dunlop wrestled that title from his grasp on his way to winning last year’s Superbike race.