Speeds continued to rise at the Manx Grand Prix in the first of two sessions today – and it was Rob Hodson who set the pace in the Classic Superbike class, the Greenall Racing Kawasaki rider lapping at 123.471mph.
That put him two seconds clear of David Johnson with nine riders in total breaking the 120mph barrier whilst Stephen Smith only just missed out in the Senior class. The Alasdair Cowan Racing rider’s third lap of 119.956mph put him 5.4 seconds ahead of second placed rider David McConnachy.
The pace also increased in the Lightweight and Junior classes where James Hind (116.317mph) and Francesco Curinga (114.974mph) topped the respective leaderboards whilst Stefano Bonetti posted the quickest Senior Classic lap at 107.873mph.
The Lightweight/Junior/Classic Senior session got underway at 1.15pm with riders warned of several damp patches around the Mountain Course and it was Dominic Herbertson (Davies Motorsport Yamaha) and Rob Hodson (Ruthless Racing Honda) who led the field away.
Michael Dunlop (Crossan Motorcycles Honda) and Mike Browne (Peter Gratham Lodge 500cc Honda) were next to go on their respective Lightweight and Classic Senior mounts with Chris Moore (Dafabet/ RC Express Kawasaki), Marc Colvin (CBG Contractors Kawasaki) and Andrew Fisher the first Junior machines to leave the line. The Paton pairing of Bonetti (Peter Beugger Racing) and John McGuinness MBE (Team Winfield) were also away early in the Classic Senior class as was Alan Oversby (Martin Ireland Honda).
Dunlop soon took over the lead on the road although it was Hind (Dennis Trollope Racing) who was setting the fastest sector times in the Lightweight class with Curinga (ILR/Coverdale Paton) doing likewise in the Junior. One man out of luck though was Herbertson who stopped at Sulby and it was Bonetti who was leading the way in the Senior Classic class.
Hind was the first to complete the lap at 113.910mph and with Dunlop pushing in after losing his chain at Governor’s Bridge that put him ahead of Stuart Hall (111.370mph), Rhys Hardisty (108.567mph) and Dan Sayle (107.274mph).
The times were also increasing in the Junior class with Jamie Williams (Steadplan Group) going quickest at 112.857mph followed by Curinga (112.597mph), Colvin (110.850mph), Daniel Ingham (110.681mph) and Moore (110.026mph), Bonetti (107.873mph) topped the Classic Senior leaderboard on the opening lap from Browne (104.089) and Rob Hodson (103.362mph) but McGuinness was an early retirement having stopped at Ballacrye.
Second time around and Curinga reasserted himself at the top of the Junior leaderboard with a strong lap of 114.974mph, the fastest lap of the week so far, but it was close with Williams only just behind at 114.815mph. Victor Lopez (Xecretia Road Racing Team Aprilia) and Andrea Majola (Biraus Paton) weren’t far behind at 113.774mph and 113.458mph respectively whilst newcomer Eoin O’Siochru was also going well at 105.137mph.
Meanwhile, in the Lightweight class, Hind was slightly slower on his second lap at 113.694mph but Sayle (110.243) had upped his pace as had Hodson (105.726mph) on his Senior Classic machine. However, Hind saved the best until last and a superb third lap of 116.317mph extended his advantage at the top of the leaderboard.
At 2.23pm, it was the turn of the Classic Superbike and Senior session with Team Classic Suzuki teammates Dunlop and Phil Crowe getting away first ahead of Jamie Coward (KTS Racing powered by Steadplan Kawasaki), Nathan Harrison (Greenall Racing Kawasaki), Craig Neve and David Johnson (both Alasdair Cowan Racing Kawasaki), Lee Johnston (Ashcourt Racing Honda) and Sunday’s pace setter Brian McCormack (Greenall Racing Kawasaki).
David McConnachy (Peter Dobson Racing Triumph) and Stephen Smith (Alasdair Cowan Racing Kawasaki) led the Senior machines away followed by Chris Cook (Kawasaki), Dean Osborne (TC Racing Honda) and Jamie Williams (NCE Racing Honda).
Coward was an early retirement at Birkin’s Bends but Dunlop immediately went to the top of the leaderboard with a lap of 122.914mph on the XR69 Suzuki although he pulled in with a gearbox issue and oil leaking from the machine. Harrison was second quickest (121.128mph) and it was tight after him with Neve (120.979mph) and Hodson (120.722) close together whilst Johnson (120.343mph) and McCormack (120.091mph) also broke the 120mph barrier.
Michael Sweeney (Mistral Racing Kawasaki) stopped at Kerromoar but the Senior front runners were having no such issues and only a handful of seconds covered Smith (118.528mph), Williams (118.462mph) and McConnachy (118.462mph). Lopez Santos was fourth but a little bit back after an opening lap of 115.103mph.
Second time around and Hodson knocked Dunlop off the Classic Superbike top spot with an impressive lap of 123.471mph and the pace was increasing all the time with Greenall Racing Kawasaki teammate Harrison (122.835mph) and 2019 winner Johnson (122.269mph) not far behind. McCormack (120.412mph), Ryan Kneen (119.595mph), Crowe (119.485mph) and Michael Rutter (119.304) had also bettered their previous best times.
It was the same in the Senior class with Smith upping the tempo to 119.474mph but McConnachy closed the gap after lapping at 119.386mph whilst Williams (119.089mph) had also broken the 119mph barrier. Lopez remained in fourth but increased his speed to 116.469mph.
Hodson and Smith remained quickest but the latter went faster on his third and final lap with a speed of 119.956mph. There were also some quick laps late on in the Classic Superbike class and Johnson closed the gap to Hodson after lapping 123.223mph. Neve was also continuing to go well with a lap of 122.910mph whilst Paul Jordan, Julian Trummer and Dominic Herbertson all lapped in excess of 120mph.
Due to Monday's cancelled sessions, there is another fourth qualifying taking place this evening.
