YORK motorcycle racing team boss Kevin Pearson is hailing a classic coup.

He confirmed to The Press that his Team York Suzuki/Big Dog Classic Racing outfit will be helmed by Australian ace David Johnson in this year’s Isle of Man Classic TT event in which he will contest the Motorsport Merchandise Formula One race.

Said Pearson: “It’s a brilliant development for us.

“It’s a great coup and with David Johnson’s help we will be going all out for victory in the Classic meeting.”

Adelaide-based Johnson was equally thrilled, declaring: “I’m really grateful to Kevin at Team York Suzuki for giving me the chance to ride what is obviously a very fast motorcycle having finished on the podium last time out. Hopefully I can get it back into the winner’s enclosure.”

He will ride an F1 1100cc Suzuki for Pearson’s York-based team and, although it will be his first time at the meeting, Johnson is no stranger to the Classic racing scene.

He is a regular at January’s Phillip Island Classic Festival where he has scored numerous wins and podium places.

The 31-year old has also excelled around the Isle of Man Mountain Course after making his debut at the TT in 2010, where he won the coveted Newcomers Trophy. Since then, he has amassed no fewer than nine silver and six bronze replica trophies, plus another three top-ten finishes.

His best result came in last year’s RL360º Superstock Race when he placed a brilliant fourth.

A tenth place in the PokerStars Senior TT Race saw him record a new personal best lap of the 37¾- mile circuit at 129.128mph, to make him the 18th fastest rider ever.

A former racer in the 1980s, Pearson established his own team, named Big Dog Classic Racing, with support from the York Suzuki Centre, and has been a staunch supporter of both the Classic TT and the Post Classic races that took place at the Manx Grand Prix between 2010 and 2012.

Last year, Russ Mountford rode for the York team and notched an impressive third place in the Motorsport Merchandise Formula One Classic TT race helped by a lap of almost 121mph.

Of his Classic TT debut, Johnson said: “I’ve been following the progress of the Classic TT the past two years and really wanted to be involved.

“I’ve done a lot of Classic racing in my career and I can’t wait to get out on the Mountain Circuit for the first time on something other than a modern Superbike.”