Ian Hutchinson and Lee Johnston will ride for the official Honda Racing team at next year’s TT.

Hutchy, who is still recovering from the leg injuries sustained in a off during June’s Senior TT, and Northern Irishman Johnston will also contest the North West 200 and Ulster GP aboard the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 in the events’ Superbike and Superstock classes.

16-time TT winner Hutchinson added: ’I’m really looking forward to getting started with Honda Racing - it’s a new challenge and a fresh start for me.

’I suppose I have quite a bit of history with Honda, 10 years ago I rode with this official team and in 2009-2010 I rode with Padgetts Honda where I scored five-TT wins in a week, so I know the Fireblade pretty well.

’I haven’t ridden the Fireblade SP2 yet and will have to wait until we go testing early next year, but I can’t wait to start making some progress.

’The Honda team has a lot of experience at the TT and its history speaks for itself with the wins and successes over the years, it’s also nice to see a lot of the team still here who I worked with in the past, so I’m confident that come the New Year we can get started and start aiming to where we want to be.’

More in Tuesday’s Examiner.