Classic TT Lightweight win for Dunlop.

Having been halted by an early red flag on Wednesday evening, the Classic TT Lightweight race; now over the reduced distance of 2 laps; finally began on Wednesday evening. The rain that prevented any action in the morning or afternoon had finally abated, and the sun was shining in Ramsey as Adam McLean led the field away. The riders faced damp patches in the usual places such as Glen Helen, Kerrowmoar and Ramsey Hairpin to Waterworks. The race catered for two stroke 250cc machines and the old Supersport 400cc machines; mostly 400cc 4 cylinder engines. Pre-race drama came when Michael Dunlop had to borrow the front brakes from the 1999 TT winning Vimto Honda belonging to John McGuinness (John rode his machine in the later parade lap).

Nathan Harrison’s lovely little RVF 400 only lasted until Ballacraine on the opening lap. At Glen Helen on that lap, race favourite Michael Dunlop led by 2s from Mike Browne, a past winner of this race. Ian Lougher, Dan Sayle, Stuart Hall and Adam McLean completed the top 6. Leader of the 400cc class was Alan Oversby; Craig Neve, fastest in practice, was second, closely followed by past winner Paul Cassidy.

At Ballaugh, Michael led by 8s from Ian Lougher, with Dan Sayle 3rd. Mike Browne had dropped over 10s on the 8 miles from Glen Helen; reason unknown. There was no change in the batting order for the 400s. The lowering sun was shining across Parliament Square as Adam McLean entered it. Lougher was next; then Michael Dunlop on the lovely Crossan Honda once raced by his late brother William and his father Robert. Michael stated that the bike “is close to my heart.”  The best piece of action occurred when Alan Oversby came into the square directly behind Michal (Indy) Dokoupil; got better drive out of the first corner and overtook him on the outside going through the second corner. The timing at White Gates showed that Dunlop’s lead was 13.77s. Browne was recovering lost time; he was up to 6^th. Oversby led the 400s by 1.67s from Neve; with Cassidy 1.18s further behind in 3^rd.

Dunlop led by 19s at the Bungalow from McLean. Browne was 2.9s quicker than Dunlop on the mountain climb; however, his progress was about to come to an abrupt halt; he crashed out; thankfully without injury; at Brandywell. The race ended in a similar fashion for 400cc class leader Oversby; he was not so fortunate as Browne; he was conscious and talking when taken to Nobles Hospital by helicopter. We hope that he is not seriously injured and that he can make a full recovery. His misfortune gave the class lead to Neve.

A lap at 115.105mph gave Dunlop a lead of 16.92s over McLean (113.478mph). Lougher was third; Sayle; Hall and Rhys Hardisty completed the class leaderboard. Neve lapped at 107.825mph to lead from Cassidy (107.264mph) by 6.59s. Owen Monaghan held third 12.42s down on Cassidy.

The lead for both Dunlop and Neve had increased at Glen Helen. At Parliament Square, the sun had been obscured by dark clouds; the light and temperature had dipped sharply. McLean remained the leader on the road; behind him Dunlop had overtaken Lougher. The lead for Dunlop as he started the mountain climb was 18.63s; whilst McLead held a 20s advantage over Lougher. Neve led the 400cc class by 13.58s from Cassidy; he had a 19.8s advantage over Monaghan.

Dunlop eased his pace on the mountain climb; but still had 15.54s in hand as he crossed the tram lines at the Bungalow. McLean had an advantage of 28s over Lougher; with Sayle 8.8s further behind. However, what had become a rather processional race was about to be disrupted. McLean suffered a cylinder seizure and had to limp home. At Cronk ny Mona he had a 3s advantage over Lougher with 1.1 miles to go; but it was not quite enough for him to be able to retain second.

Michael Dunlop duly secured an emotional victory by 47.191s from Lougher; their final laps were 115.285mph and 113.113mph respectively. McLean’s ailing machine made it to the finish in third; but only 0.654s ahead of Sayle; who in turn was 0.039s ahead of Hall. Hardisty completed the top 6.

The 400cc class had no such dramas; a lap at 109.140mph gave Neve victory by 21.712s from Cassidy; with Monaghan 5.842s behind him in third.

Classic TT Lightweight Race

1. Michael Dunlop                Crossan Honda               115.195mph
2. Ian Lougher                       Laycock Yamaha            112.935mph
3. Adam McLean                   LayLaw Yamaha             112.608mph
4. Dan Sayle                           Chapman Honda            112.577mph
5. Stuart Hall                         Whippet Yamaha            112.576mph
6. Rhys Hardisty                   Laylaw Yamaha               110.782mph

400cc Class

1. Craig Neve                        Callmac Kawasaki         108.478mph
2. Paul Cassidy                     Green Yamaha               107.191mph
3. Owen Monaghan             RLT Kawasaki                106.944mph

Friday is scheduled to give us 3 races; the Formula 1 having been cut from the programme; starting with the 2 laps Junior Race; then the Historic Senior (machines up to 500cc); the final race being the Senior; essentially the Formula 1 Superbikes; plus others (fast Lightweights) invited to participate by the organizers. The weather forecast is not promising; hopefully it will be proven to be inaccurate.