Dean Harrison put down his marker in the first timed qualifying session for TT 2025. He was first away from the Grandstand; in the Superbike / Superstock session. He was well clear of the others at Ballaugh Bridge and crossed the line having set a speed of 130.897mph on the Honda Superbike. Later starter Michael Dunlop put his Superstock machine around at 130.897mph; a speed he could not quite match when he took his Superbike for some laps; his best on that was at 129.975mph.
There was a smaller than usual crowd at Ballaugh where the roads were dry, with high cloud; that increased during the session; this meant no harsh shadows for the riders to contend with. There were no moments, but some fine jumps with Harrison; Hillier, Cummins; Rutter, Hickman and Sweeney gaining top style marks.
The speeds moved up a notch on the second and third laps of the session; Harrison was superb through Ballaugh, the Honda looking very stable. He raised the bar to 133.069mph; whilst Davey Todd upped his pace to 131.231mph on his 8TEN Racing Superstock BMW. Peter Hickman put his 8TEN BMW Superbike around at 131.0736mph. Harrison then went out on his Superstock machine, he lapped at 131.098mph. Those who lapped at over 128mph were Nathan Harrison, Shaun Anderson, Paul Jordan, Conor Cummins and John McGuinness. Newcomer Mitch Rees continued to impress; lapping at 123.050mph.
The next session was for Supersport and Supertwin machines. It seemed strange to see Michael Dunlop out on the Milwaukee / Quattro Ducati Panagale; rather than the trusted Yamaha. The bike looked and sounded great; it must suit him; for despite his nose landing at Ballaugh, he topped the speeds at 127.181mph. Harrison set 126.436mph; Hillier 124.596mph on his Bournemouth Kawasaki, Todd 124.238mph on the Padgetts / Milenco Honda, Mike Browne 123.998mph on the Russell Yamaha and Paul Jordan (Jackson Honda) 123.742mph.
The Supertwins were headed by Rob Hodson (SMT Paton); one of the few to complete 2 laps in the class; his best was 119.521mph; Dunlop set 119.068mph on his Paton; local star Mikey Evans (Dafabet Kawasaki) 118.646mph, Mike Browne (KMR Kawasaki) 118.579mph, Davey Todd set 117.634mph on his first lap on the Padgett /Milenco Paton, whilst Peter Hickman managed 116.718mph on his Swan Yamaha.
Under dark skies the Sidecars set out on their session. The Crowe brothers first away; they were rapid through Ballaugh; where it was, by then, gloomy. The conditions caused the organizers to cut the session to a single lap; Pete Founds / Jevan Walmsley leaving the Grandstand right on the cut off. There was no real drama at Ballaugh; just some good fast action. The Crowes set the bar at 118.797mph; Founds recorded 115.370mph, Crawford / Hardie 113.742mph; Birchall / Rosney 112.827mph; they were the only outfits top 110mph. The top six was completed by Todd Ellis / Emmanuelle Clement and Steve and Matty Ramsden.
