RECORD breaking rider Ian Hutchinson swapped teams in January from Honda to Yamaha.

Hutchy, who became the first man to win five races in a week at the 2010 TT riding for Padgett's Honda, signed a two-year deal with Yamaha.

Padgett's Honda ran a factory supported team at the TT and competed at the North West 200, the Ulster Grand Prix, Macau Grand Prix and the British Supersport Championship.

Hutchy, who has won a total of eight TT races, was still recovering in January following a career threatening injury in the British Supersport Championship which happened after his clean sweep at the TT last year.

He said: "I've been cycling on a turbo-trainer since mid-December. Initially I struggled to do five minutes, now I can do 40 and get my heart rate up to 192, with an average of 184.

"That was all I could do before the accident."

Marketing manager for Yamaha Motor UK Ltd Simon Belton said: "The TT races has been a huge part of Yamaha's development as a company over the last 50 years and we are delighted to have Ian onboard to spearhead our challenge in 2011 as he has proved himself to be one of the leading TT riders."

The then Economic Development Minister Allan Bell MHK said: "We are delighted that Yamaha has increased their commitment to the TT races and it is a sign of the event's growing strength that we now have factory supported teams from all four leading Japanese manufacturers as well as many other leading European brands."

Update: Ian Hutchinson completed his first race for Yamaha in November 2011 following his injury in the British Supersport Championship. He came third in the Duke Road Race Rankings at the Macau Grand Prix.

This story is part of isleofman.com's Review of the Year 2011.