Peter Hickman: “Got to race Davey Todd whether he’s in the same team or not!”

8TEN Racing co-owner Davey Todd admits FHO Racing withdrawing and the formation of a new team for the 2025 Isle of Man TT “was a shock”.

The Fay Ho-run FHO Racing took over the Smiths Racing operation after the 2019 Isle of Man TT and became a force on the roads, with Peter Hickman winning seven big bike races for the outfit between 2022 and 2024.

FHO looked to be an even more formidable force in 2025 after it signed double TT winner Todd to join Hickman, before the team sensationally withdrew from its race activities for this year.

This led Todd and Hickman to form 8TEN Racing, maintaining much of the crew from the old FHO team as well as securing official BMW backing.

Todd admits it was “daunting” at first to take help run a team, but now has “an incredibly good feeling about it”.

“It honestly feels really good,” Todd said at the TT Live podcast recording.

“Honestly, I’m not going to say it felt good at the beginning.

“It was a shock and definitely a daunting prospect.

“But after a while, with all the support, Pete working together with him and the whole 8TEN Racing team, the more time goes on the more I just get an incredibly good feeling about it.

“All the people we have involved are really good people.

“They’re not only really good mechanics and really good people running the team, and good in that sense, but they are our friends.

“When we go racing we want to have a good time as well, have a laugh and enjoy it. We know a happy racer is a fast racer.

“We’re hoping to give that sort of vibe to it, where we can all enjoy our racing to the maximum. To win a race as the co-team owner and the rider would be something really cool.”

Peter Hickman: People will be surprised at how good team dynamic is

Fourteen-time TT winner Hickman already has experience of running a team, having formed his PHR outfit a few years ago.

Much has been made about the dynamic of the 8TEN team, having two of the TT’s top names racing against each other.

For Hickman, “it doesn’t make any difference” having Todd as a team-mate because he’ll have to race him anyway and believes people will be “surprised” at how good the atmosphere in the group is.

“It’s been an interesting thing from outside,” Hickman said.

“I’ve never really thought about it too much from being in the position that I’m in.

“But I’ve got to race against Davey whether he’s in the same team as me or not. It doesn’t make any difference.

“But, I’m really looking forward to it.

“I think it’s going to be surprising for probably a few people at how well we’re going to get on.

“We’re already getting on really, really well. We were mates already anyway.

“I think our friendship has just gotten stronger, in the last few months in particular.

“We’re calling it a brand-new team, but it’s not really a new team.

“The people who are there are all people who we worked with in the past.

“Darren Jones, team manager, was team manager at FHO, was team manager at Smiths.

“So, it’s a long time he’s been with me. A lot of the crew that’s with me, it’s my crew who’s been with me for a good few years now.

“And the same on Davey’s side. It’s a friendly team. Everyone is mates, we all get on, and it’s a really good atmosphere already.”