DAO Racing Kawasaki

DAO Racing Kawasaki

Machinery
Kawasaki
Manager
Sommai Nantakoon
Located
Lancashire
Pedigree
First Race
2017

Manager

Sommai Nantakoon

Sommai Nantakoon

Team Biography

DAO Racing is one of the most iconic motorcycle road racing teams of the current era – and has now also become regular fixture in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship.

As reigning 2019 winners of the Isle of Man Senior TT  with rider Dean Harrison, the team embarked on its first full Bennetts BSB season in 2021.

Owned by Isle of Man-based business owner Clarissa Beadman, the team is now run by manager Jonny Bagnall, who is the longest-standing member.

Bagnall’s relationship with motorcycles began as a child and he grew up riding, competing in motocross for many years until injury ended his career. Starting work at a Honda dealership straight from school, he joined the squad, which then ran under a different name, 2012.

The team began life in 2007 as a leading Supermoto World Championship squad and won 2013 title with Finnish rider Mauno Hermunen before moving into road racing, winning the 2015 Senior Manx GP with the late Malachi Mitchel-Thomas.

Dean Harrison signed for the squad in 2016 and it quickly proved to be a winning combination, Harrison and the team scoring three TT podiums and several other road race wins in their first season together.

Since then, they have amassed 12 TT podiums, two Classic TT wins, numerous Oliver’s Mount victories, more than 20 Southern 100 race wins and podium finishes in all high-profile international road races, including the North West 200 and the Ulster GP.

Bagnall, who had worked as Harrison’s crew chief since 2016, took over the reins as team manager in 2019 and has built a small but perfectly formed team to continue DAO Racing’s legacy.

Chasing success remains the driving force behind the Cumbria-based team, with both Harrison and Bagnall fully focused on continuing their winning ways on the road racing scene.

As Kawasaki’s official Team Green road racing squad, the team is enjoying the new challenge of being a regular part of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship as it plans its third full season in 2023.