Klaus Klaffenbock and Dan Sayle lost out on a fourth consecutive sidecar victory after late mechanical problems handed a first ever TT win to John Holden and Andrew Winkle.
It initially looked like a virtual re-run of Saturday’s opening race, with Klaffenbock leading from the start, catching and passing main opponent Holden’s LCR outfit coming down the mountain for the first time, as Conrad Harrison and Mike Aylott held onto the third position that they also finished in race 1 on their Shelbourne, despite hitting a bank at Signpost Corner.
Tony Elmer and Darren Marshall had their Yamaha in fourth, but then the drama really began on the final lap.
There was clearly a mechanical problem for Klaffenbock, as he allowed Holden back past at Sulby and the lead was cut to six seconds at Ramsey.
By the Bunglow Holden had grabbed top spot, jumping into a 22 second lead, as Klaffenbock tumbled down the order.
The eventual winning margin was 45 seconds, though it was no longer the Austrian in second.
Harrison and Aylott instead took their best ever finish in second place, while a thrilling battle was also being played out for the final podium place, as Tim Reeves and Gregory Cluze just ran out of time to catch Elmer and Aylott, the two crews separated by just 0.8 of a second.
Klaffenbock eventually came home in sixth place.
