We might have been fired into winter like a bullet from a gun here in South Africa, but the one bright ray of sunshine to keep us going through the chilly winter months is the fact that motorsport is really getting going in the Northern Hemisphere.
And it’s not just motorsport but some of the most iconic motorsport events in the world; the European rounds of the MotoGP World Championship, the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Indianapolis 500 and, of course, the Isle of Man TT.
The TT is by far and away the most important, not because it involves motorcycles (and this is, after all, a motorcycling website), but because it is the last event of its type, pitting man and machine against what are essentially public roads, when all other races of its type (apart from the road races in Ireland) have been outlawed on the grounds of safety.
The word ‘safety’ is used a lot at the TT, and the organisers have done enormous amounts of work to ensure that it is as safe as can be, but there’s not a lot you can do about the stone walls, kerbs, trees, bus stops, etc. The death toll is horrendous, but still men and women return there year after year to do battle with the course, and that’s why the TT is unique today and precisely why it should be allowed to remain a fixture on the international motorsport calendar; it’s the last bastion of free will in sport.
For the past ten years, South Africa has had its own hero to cheer on at the TT. AJ Venter (or, as he is known to the TT timekeepers, Allann Venter) has been getting steadily quicker and quicker around the 37.75-mile road course with every visit.
Last year, AJ was given a huge boost towards his goals on the island, when Zunaid Moti of FuturExotics stepped in with a very generous three-year sponsorship deal.
This enabled AJ to not only buy a brand-new BMW S1000RR but, crucially, gave him a lot more time and mental space to be able to give his best in both practice and the races, and developing the bike before even getting to the TT rather than a last-minute rush when at the circuit, meaning his time there could be a lot more structured and optimised.
“Even my worst day this year was better than my best day last year,’ commented AJ in 2025. ‘Everything just felt more dialled in – from the bike, to the team, to the mindset – and that’s all thanks to the incredible support I received from Zunaid Moti and FuturExotics. It was the most prepared, focused, and professionally supported I’ve ever been.”
Last year was year one of the partnership between AJ and FuturExotics, and it paid dividends straight away. AJ not only set his fastest lap at 121.344 mph, giving a 204 km/h average (making him the fastest-ever South African around the TT course), but also set his fastest top speed at 304 km/h along the Sulby Straight, while his pit crew set the third-fastest pit stop time at 53 seconds.
A year later, and we’re all sat once again at FuturExotics showroom on Sandton Drive in Johannesburg on the eve of AJ heading off to the Isle of Man, to officially launch the second year of the sponsorship deal. And, you know what, there’s something about AJ and the confidence he exudes that gives rise to the thought that this could be the year that he breaks into the top ten in one or more of the big bike (1000 cc) races – the two Superstock races, the Superbike or the Senior TT. Certainly, that’s his stated goal, and I’m not going to be the one to disagree.
He seems much more at ease than he has in years past, and that can only be a product of having a stable foundation on which to go racing. Any TT competitor will tell you that, in order to do well at the TT, your head has to be in the right space. It is certain that having sufficient backing to make many of the problems of organisation go away – logistics, pit crew, the bike, spares, even money to eat – can only be good for the rider. Don’t forget that, outside the top twenty seeded riders, among which you will find all the big names of the TT today, there are 40 or so complete amateurs doing this for the love of the sport and simply because it’s there.
AJ has, for many years, been one of those amateurs and what he’s achieved while in that status is nothing short of a miracle. Now, with solid backing behind him, it’s time for him to step up to the big time and show what he’s capable of when all the cards fall right. He’s spent the last year fine-tuning and honing the BMW to a peak of readiness, and you can be sure that AJ has been doing the same to himself.
In about three weeks’ time, we’ll get an idea if all the work has paid off. So do yourself and AJ a favour and find a way of keeping up with all the news and race reports from the 2026 TT. Practice week is the last week of May, and race week is the first week of June. You can follow the racing on the official TT website, which live streams all the races on the TT+ Live App, and there’s a lot of additional content as well on the official Isle of Man TT Races YouTube page, or you can tune into DSTV to catch up on the highlights, race coverage and some interviews from the past days of racing.
