Double delight for Williams; Canny grabs victory in superb Senior Race.

Race day 2 of the 2025 Manx Grand Prix produced races that will be talked about for many years. A day of clear skies and hot weather gave the perfect canvas for some hot racing on the 37.73 miles of the Mountain Course.

Michael Rees was the first rider to receive the famous tap on the shoulder and charge away towards Bray Hill. Jamie Williams; winner of the Supersport Race; was next. He was looking to improve on his podium finish in the Supertwins Race (same bikes; same numbers). Unlike on Monday he was the fastest on the first 9 miles to Glen Helen; his lead 2.144s over Monday’s winner Lewis Arrowsmith. Michael Rees was third, 2.45s down on Arrowsmith. Toby Shann, Liam Chawke and Michael Gahan completed the first edition of the leader board.

Jamie Williams added 2.02s to his advantage on the 8 miles to Ballaugh. Behind him Johnny Stewart had moved up to 5^th. Schoolhouse Corner in Ramsey there were just a few spectators in the school car park and private gardens; they were treated some exciting action as the twists and turns of the race revealed themselves. Jamie Williams was first to reach us; having taken 10s and more from Rees in the 23.25 to Schoolhouse. He knocked it down gear before heeling the machine over to take the left hand bend. Rees was next, then Lewis Arrowsmith; both head down and going for it. Next was Andy Farrell; closely followed by Alex Sinclair and Liam Chawke; the latter having closed the 10s starting interval. They were to remain just a few metres apart for the remainder of the race; Sinclair taking the tow from Chawke. The timing beam at White gates showed that Williams now led 6.07s from Arrowsmith; with the latter only 0.267s ahead of Shann.

Shann was fastest on the run to the Bungalow; he was now second, 4.42s behind Williams, and had an advantage of 2.46s over Arrowsmith. Chawke, Gahan and Harley Rushton. Shann was fastest on the run down the mountain; as he came in for mandatory pit stop, he had reduced his deficit to Williams to just 2.805s. Williams’ lap was at 114.539mph; Shann’s was 114.268mph. Arrowsmith, Rushton, Chawke and Canny. In the battle to be best newcomer, Grant Thomson was 2.45s ahead of Eddy Wormald. Arrowsmith had super quick stop of just 27s and left pit lane with a lead of 1s over Williams. Conversely, Rushton dropped 16s to Arrowsmith; he was stationary for 43s.

For Arrowsmith the race was soon over; he stopped for 5s at Quarter bridge; but then had to retire from the fray at Braddan Bridge. At Glen Helem, Williams held a 5.75s advantage over Shann, with Chawke 6.41s further back. Williams was well clear on the road at Schoolhouse. The duos of Chawke / Sinclair and Gahan / Shann providing good action for the spectators. For Harley Rushton the race ended here; his engine gave out a load bang and the awful sound of metal on metal as the engine began to eat itself. He retired at Parliament Square. Shann was the fastest man on track; he had cut his deficit to 3.9s as they began the mountain climb. The demise of Rushton had moved Canny up to 6^th.

Shann’s rapid climb up the mountain left him only 0.011s behind as they crossed the tram lines at the Bungalow. At Cronk ny Mona, we had a new leader; Shann was 1.1s ahead of Williams. Williams is usually the fastest on the short dash to the Grandstand and this was no exception; he crossed the line start the final lap 0.574s down on Shann; could he up his game and make this a double?

It seemed that the answer was in the affirmative; a blistering run to Glen Helen gave him the lead by 1.113s from Shann. Gahan remained 3^rd, 9.69s down on Shann. Williams and Shann traded blows on the run to Ramsey where Williams led 1.599s as they faced the 13.73 miles run up and down the mountain. Gahan was 3^rd, Chawke 4^th; with Canny; now fastest man on track up to 5^th 2.4s ahead of Sinclair. At the Bungalow the lead for Williams was 2.034s; he had to be perfect on the run home if he was to take his second victory. A rapid final sector gave Williams a much deserved victory by 3.23s; his final lap was at 115.519mph. Canny lapped at 115.258mph to finish 11.751s from Gahan. Liam Chawke took 4^th but by only 2.05s from Canny; he set the fastest lap of the race at 115.824mph. The final podium place went to a delighted Alex Sinclair; a polar opposite to the emotions of last year; well done to him. Eddy Wormald in 8^th took the newcomers’ honours by 4.958s from Grant Thomson. These two young men are ones to watch in the next few years.

Manx Grand Prix Supporters’ Club Junior Manx Grand Prix

1. Jamie Williams    Aprilia                                  113.885mph
2. Toby Shann           Kawasaki                            113.782mph
3. Michael Gahan     Aprilia                                  113.410mph
4. Liam Chawke        Kawasaki                            113.225mph
5. Caomhan Canny   Aprilia                                 113.191mph
6. Alex Sinclair          Aprilia                                 112.914mph

The afternoon brought a move to May Hill; the exit of Cruickshank’s Corner; to witness the Senior TT. It provided one of the most enthralling races in the 102 years history of the event and what was probably the most dramatic finish. The weather conditions remained nearly perfect; just a slightly stronger breeze faced the riders. Jamie Williams had the number 1 plate; the honorary bird scarer role. Unlike in the Junior race, he was not fastest to Glen Helen; he found himself in fourth. Chris Cook had his Kawasaki flying; he led by 3.84s from Johnny Stewart. Caomhan Canny was third; Adria Harrison and Don Gilbert completed the initial offering of the leader board. Michael Gahan and Grant Thomson were both obliged to retire their machines in the early stages of the race.

Cook had increased his lead to 5.2s at Ballaugh Bridge where Whitehall was up to 4^th, Harrison was 5^th and Gilbert 6^th. Jamie Williams was still first on the road at May Hill; but close behind him, Cook had taken over 7s out of the starting interval. Both were bang on line and very fast as they accelerated between the high walls of Cronk Brae and the low wall of the old vicarage. We were then treated to some fine action as the field streamed past and on towards the climb up North Barrule. The beam at White Gates showed that Cook led by 5.126s from Canny; with Williams 7.649s behind the leader. Stewart, Whitehall and Gilbert completed the leader board.

At the Bungalow the lead was 5.152s; the fluid bottom half of the leader board was now comprised of Stewart, Gilbert and Whitehall. An opening lap at 120.595mph gave Cook a lead of 3.431s over Canny (120.229mph); with Williams (119.478mph) in third. Stewart, Gilbert and Whitehall all lapped at over 118mph.

A rapid trip to Glen Helen gave Cook an increased lead of 6.701s. Williams remained in third, 5.365s down on Canny. Stewart, Gilbert and Whitehall completed the top 6; but Harrison and Graham McAleese presented an omnipresent danger to their leader board positions. Cook was fastest on the 15 miles to Ramsey; here his lead had edged upwards to 8.983s. Williams virtually the same distance behind Canny. Stewart, Whitehall and Gilbert were covered by 4.2s in their battle for 3^rd.

A lap 120.994mph gave Cook a lead of 8.741s over Canny (120.424mph) as they came in for their fuel stop. Williams was now 14.94s down on Canny. Behind him the trio battling for the leader board placings were now covered by 2.34s. The pit stops saw the lead all but extinguished; Canny’s stop was 46.53s, whilst that for Cook was 54.41s. Williams had the middle ground, his was 50.85s. With such a wafer thin margins we now had a two lap shoot out to decide who took the winner’s laurels.

Cook set about rebuilding his lead; it was 2.58s at Glen Helen; up to 4s at Ballaugh and 4.3 as they reached May Hill. Behind them, Whitehall had reduced his deficit to Williams from over 20s to 17s. Cook was fastest on the mountain section; he led by 5.687s as he crossed the line to begin the final lap. Williams was now over 30s behind Canny, but only 12s ahead of Whitehall.

At Glen Helen, Cook had increased his advantage to 8.146s, momentum seemed to be with him. Whitehall continued closing on Williams, the gap down to 8.8s. Cook was marginally the fastest to Ballaugh, where Whitehall had taken another 3.3s from Williams. As Cook was exiting Cruickshank’s Corner, he found himself fighting a tank slapper that had the spectators gasping. It looked spectacular through the camera lens. He backed off the throttle and managed to regain control of the machine; but lost impetus along the short straight in to White Gates. What caused this incident may never be known, but it probably cost Cook the race. His lead at White Gates was 6.317s; the pendulum had reversed direction. Behind them, Whitehall was only 4.1s behind Williams.

On the mountain climb, Canny took 2.2s out of the lead; whilst Whitehall was now just 0.5s down on Williams. At Cronk ny Mona, with 1.1 miles to go, Cook had an advantage of 1.731s; it appeared to be enough. Behind them Whitehall had taken 3^rd from Williams by 0.22s. Williams had been consistently the fastest man on the short dash to the line; could he do it one more time?  Cook and Williams crossed the line then they had agonising waits for Canny and Whitehall to finish this wonderful race. For Cook the wait ended in disappointment; Canny set the best sector time of the race to win by 0.529s; his final lap was at 120.846mph; Cook’s was at 120.181mph. For Williams it was joy; he had snatched the podium position from Whitehall by 0.007s; the margin so thin that their average speed for the race was the same. Whitehall finished ahead of Gilbert by 32.46s; whilst Gilbert was only 0.414s ahead of Stewart.

Eddy Wormald was best newcomer in 11^th; with Lee Hara the second newcomer in 14^th place.

What a race this was; each place contested strongly; there was much fine riding; fast speeds and, thankfully, no accidents. The number of newcomers was encouraging, and it seems that we could have seen the start of the Mountain Course careers of some TT stars of the future. The format used this year has been universally popular; helped by some lovely weather.

Senior Manx Grand Prix

1. Caomhan Canny           Suzuki                                  119.201mpg
2. Chris Cook                     Kawasaki                            119.187mph
3. Jamie Williams             JLG/NCE Honda              117.873mph
4. Ryan Whitehall             WR Yamaha                      117.873mph
5. Don Gilbert                    Honda                                 117.049mph
6. Johnny Stewart             Kawasaki                            117.039mph