Ian Hutchinson won a drama-filled and heavily delayed PokerStars Superbike race today. The Padgetts Honda rider came home over 33 seconds clear of Michael Dunlop with Cameron Donald clawing his way back from 13th to claim third. Manxman Conor Cummins seemingly had the race in the bag and, after a stunning opening lap of 131.511mph, just a whisker outside the outright lap record, had a commanding 21 second lead at the end of the fourth lap but problems at the second pit stop saw that whittled down to four seconds and he was soon reported as a retirement at Laurel Bank. Heavy mist in the Douglas area saw the original 12.00pm start time pushed back to 3.30pm and when it did finally get underway, mist still lay on the bottom two miles of the course. Fifteen time champion John McGuinness forged an early lead, the HM Plant Honda rider holding a slender 0.08second advantage over Cummins at Glen Helen with Hutchinson and Donald in third and fourth. However, McGuinness was reported touring along the Sulby Straight eventually given as a retirement in the same spot but that mattered little to Cummins who was by now setting a ferocious pace. A stunning opening lap of 131.511mph gave him an eight-second lead over Hutchinson with Guy Martin, Adrian Archibald, Dan Stewart and Ian Lougher close behind but Donald had overshot at the Nook and lost a lot of time, rejoining the circuit in 13th at the end of the first lap. Lap 2 and Cummins continued to extend his advantage while Hutchinson, now the leader on the road, was edging clear of Martin in the battle for the remaining podium positions. Cummins’ second lap was again in excess of 131mph with Hutchinson and Michael Dunlop also above 130mph, the Northern Irishman now up to fourth behind Martin. Archibald was holding on to fifth with Lougher in sixth and Donald already having climbed back up to seventh. Meanwhile, Stewart had dropped to ninth and lost more time at the pits, dropping outside of the top ten. The new pit-lane speed limit had already claimed its first victim with Carl Rennie receiving a 30-second penalty but with a 20-second lead, Cummins was controlling affairs from his signals with Hutchinson pulling further ahead of Martin, the latter named circulating in close formation with Dunlop. Archibald was still well in contention in fifth with Donald now ahead of Keith Amor on the sole surviving HM Plant Honda for sixth. Lougher was now in eighth with Ryan Farquhar and Bruce Anstey completing the top ten at half race distance. Cummins held a near 22-second lead when he came in to the pits for his second pit stop with Hutchinson now a similar distance clear of Martin in second, Dunlop, Archibald and Donald still occupying the top six. However, Cummins’ McAdoo Kawasaki refused to fire when he left the pits and his advantage was disappearing rapidly, down to four seconds when he eventually got going. Martin was also in trouble, the second high profile rider to receive a 30-second penalty and this dropped him back to fifth, Archibald and Donald now moving up to third and fourth respectively. There was more drama in store when Cummins failed to go through Glen Helen on the fifth lap and news eventually filtered through that he’d stopped with mechanical trouble at Laurel Bank, cruel luck for the Ramsey rider. This handed the lead to Hutchinson and with a commanding 50-second lead, the Bingley rider was on course for his fourth TT victory and he duly completed the last two laps to complete an excellent ride, also becoming another rider to join the exclusive 130mph+ club. Martin was second on the road but still fifth on time whilst just behind him Dunlop, Donald and Amor were having a ferocious short-circuit style dice on the roads, the battle allowing the Australian to overhaul Archibald for the final podium place. At the chequered flag, Dunlop secured a brilliant second place on the Robinson Concrete/Street Sweep Honda, less than 10 seconds clear of Donald. Martin eventually took fourth, the time penalty costing him second place, with Archibald and Amor rounding out the top six, the last named the fastest man on the final lap at 129.608mph. Lougher completed a strong ride in seventh place with Michael Rutter doing likewise on his Superstock-spec Bathams Honda in eighth. Stewart regrouped for ninth with Farquhar completing the top ten on his MSS Colchester Kawasaki, Anstey one place further back in 11th. Dan Kneen kept the local flag flying in 12th just ahead of Ian Mackman whilst Davy Morgan stole an early march in the race for the Privateer’s Championship in an excellent 14th place, Stephen Oates, Jimmy Moore, Paul Dobbs and James McBride filling the top five positions in this new Championship that recognises the efforts of privately funded teams and riders. More, from a press release issued by Keith Amor’s publicist: Top six for Amor in Superbike TT Keith Amor put in a strong ride on the HM Plant Honda in Saturday’s 6-lap Superbike race at the Isle of Man TT races, his first top six finish in the class since making his debut at the event in 2007. It was a fine performance by the Falkirk ace who only sat on the bike for the first time on Monday and he also posted his best ever lap of the Mountain Course with a final lap speed of 129.604mph. With heavy sea mist in the Douglas area, the race was delayed heavily and it finally got underway at 3.30pm, three and a half hours later than originally scheduled. Starting at number 5, and wearing the all-new limited TT edition Arai helmet, Keith was soon away and into his stride, an opening lap of 127.220mph putting him into ninth place. Increasing his speed to 127.652mph around the 37 and 3/4-mile course, Keith moved up to eighth place at one thirds race distance as he came in to the pits to refule and change the rear tyre for the first time. With visibility improving all the time and his pace improving, Keith moved up another place to seventh at half race distance and this was maintained on lap four, despite lapping even quicker at 128.973mph. Now circulating on the road at high speed with Cameron Donald and Michael Dunlop, the fans lining the course were treated to a short circuit-style dice on the roads between the trio and with a final lap speed of 129.608mph, his best ever, Keith was able to secure sixth place at the chequered flag, an excellent debut outing on the HM Plant Honda. Speaking afterwards, a satisfied Keith said, “We tried a few different settings for the race but we’d gone in the right direction so my first two laps weren’t as I would have liked but at the first pit stop we were able to change a few things and it transformed the bike and I was able to get going properly. I have to keep reminding myself I didn’t sit on the bike until Monday and having lost the opening Saturday night due to bad weather, I’ve been chasing a good set-up all week in order to make the tyre last better. The second half of the race made things a lot better so we now know what we need to do for next Friday’s Senior race. I really enjoyed the dice with Cameron and Michael even if it did get a bit hectic out there but to get sixth place in my first ‘factory’ ride is pretty pleasing. All the boys in the team did a mega job and I was able to lap quicker than I’ve ever gone before so it’s good to get race week underway with a solid result.” Keith’s next races are on Monday where he’ll be racing the Kojak Racing Honda in the Supersport race and the WA Corless/Jackson Racing BMW in the Superstock race, both to be held over 4 laps. More, from a press release issued by Tim Reeves’ publicist: Reeves and Chauhan take superb third in opening Sidecar TT Tim Reeves took a superb third position in Saturday evening’s opening Sidecar TT race for his second podium around the Mountain Course. The Kent driver overcame what can only be described as a nightmare practice week around the 37 and 3/4-mile circuit to secure third place on the final lap of the 3-lap race and there was double celebration as passenger Dipash Chauhan was able to step on to the TT podium for the very first time. Practice week had been a disaster for Reeves with engine problem after engine problem meaning he spent most of the week parked up by the roadside and, when he did get to complete a lap, it usually occurred after stopping somewhere on the course to make adjustments. However, a lap in excess of 109mph, whilst not at the speed he would have liked, at least meant he was heading in the right direction come race day and he came into Saturday in a more optimistic mood. Weather problems, with sea mist in the Douglas area, meant the start of the race was put back from it’s original 3.00pm start to 6.15pm but when it did get underway it was clear that Reeves and Chauhan were back on the pace. An opening lap of 112.717mph put them in fourth place, less than four seconds adrift of 14-times TT winner, and sidecar legend, Dave Molyneux, and over ten seconds clear of fifth placed Simon Neary/Paul Knapton. On the second lap, Reeves increased his pace to 113.276mph, a new personal best, to cement his fourth place and when second placed John Holden/Andy Winkle went out at Sulby on the final lap, he was promoted up to third with just half a lap left to complete. A final lap of 112.044mph saw him duly bring the Double M/Haith Racing Suzuki home in third place for his second podium in three years of TT competition. Speaking afterwards, a delighted Tim said: “I’m absolutely over the moon with that result! Practice week was probably the worst week of my life and we had problem after problem – I think we only completed five laps – so to be standing here with third place and another TT podium is fantastic. The bike’s ‘on it’ now and I’m still learning the place so although I was a little bit disappointed when Klaus came by on the first lap, he’s got four years more experience than me, so I held on to him for a bit and I now know where I’m slow and where I can improve. I’ve got to say a big thank you to Mark Middleton of Double M and the Haith’s for everything they’ve put in to the team and I can’t wait until Wednesday now!” The second three-lap Sidecar TT race takes place on Wednesday at 1.15pm. More, from a press release issued by John McGuinness’ publicist: McGuinness denied in TT Superbike race Morecambe’s John McGuinness was denied a potential 16th Isle of Man TT win on Saturday when he was forced to retire on the opening lap of the 6-lap Superbike race. The HM Plant Honda rider, second fastest in practice, had set a ferocious pace in the first few miles to lead on corrected time but his race was soon over, mechanical problems forcing him out on the Sulby Straight, half way round the Mountain Course. It was a long wait for McGuinness as heavy sea mist in Douglas delayed the start from its original start time of 12.00pm until 3.30pm but when the race did finally get underway, John put in his usual charge over the first 9 miles to lead the field as they swept through Glen Helen on the first lap. However, it was very close and the first official timing point had John just 0.08s clear of local hero Conor Cummins so it was very much ‘game on’. However, as the riders passed through the speed trap in Sulby, it was clear all wasn’t well as John was only timed at 136mph, some 50mph down on the speeds he’d be normally reaching. Sure enough, news soon came through that he had retired on the Sulby Straight and his race was over before it had even begun. Speaking later, a hugely disappointed John said; “I’m absolutely gutted, there’s no other word to use. I rode absolutely flat out for that first half of the lap and the bike was flying but as I exited the Quarry Bends and went on to the Sulby Straight it just lost all its power and that was that. It looks like it was the crank sensor and whilst I was able to ride the bike back to the pits, I could only rev the bike up to 6000-7000rpm as it just died if I revved the bike anything higher than that. I rode those first few miles to Glen Helen faster than I’ve ever gone before and, to be fair, I don’t think I could do it any faster, but it was going to be a hell of a race so for it to be over before it had barely started was very disappointing. That’s the TT for you though so we’ll be back on Monday to give it another go.” John will be back out on Monday on the Padgetts Honda’s, competing in the Superstock and Supersport races, both being held over 4 laps. More, from another press release issued by Isle of Man TT organizers: TT ZERO ELECTRIC BIKES TAKE TO THE MOUNTAIN COURSE TO BEGIN 2010 TT ZERO CHALLENGE Following a weather delayed race day, the 2010 TT Zero race for Electric bikes finally got onto the course at 8.25pm for their first practice session at the 2010 TT Races. Ten machines are confirmed to compete in the 2010 TT Zero race including London based Ecolve, Agni Racing who have two bikes, University teams Brunel and Kingston, MotoCzysz from America, Isle of Man based ManTTx Racing, Austria’s HTBLAUVA XX Project, SERT (Swedish Electric Racing Team) and Germany’s Peace E Rider. TT riders participating include Mark Miller, Jenny Tinmouth, George Spence, Rob Barber, Martin Loicht, Paul Owen, James McBride, Mark Buckley, Chris Palmer and Shaun Gilbertson. The teams are chasing a £10,000 prize that the Isle of Man Government has put up for the first team to record a 100mph lap around the iconic 37 ¾ mile course which was first achieved by Bob McIntyre in 1957 on a conventional bike. American Mark Miller on the MotoCzysz E1PC quickly set the pace in the first qualifying session with a time of 93.390mph to Glen Helen, closely followed by Team Agni’s defending champion Rob Barber who recorded 91.586mph at the first timing point. Miller extended his lead to Ballaugh with a time of 96.327 and was recorded at an incredible 99.520 at Ramsey with Rob Barber not far behind at 96.670. Chris Palmer recorded 80.913 to be tucked into third place. However the battle royale for first practice honours eventually ended when the MotoCzysz effort encountered problems and faltered after Cronk ny Mona leaving Team Agni and Rob Barber to record the fastest lap at 84.875mph. The Americans at least had the consolation of completing their first lap on the Isle of Man with a time of 74.668mph. The second TT Zero practice takes place on Monday with the race scheduled for Wednesday 9th June at 16.30 GMT. More, from a press release issued by Ryan Farquhar’s publicist: Farquhar secures top ten finish in Superbike TT Ryan Farquhar secured a top ten finish in Saturday’s opening Superbike TT race when he finished in 10th place on the MSS Colchester Kawasaki. The Dungannon ace had made further adjustments to the ZX-10R in preparation for the race and was able to set his fastest ever lap of the Mountain Course (in race conditions) on his way to yet another top ten result. After heavy mist in Douglas delayed the start of the race by three and a half hours, it eventually got underway at 3.30pm and Ryan was soon blasting his way down towards Bray Hill. Making good progress on the opening lap, a speed of 127.903mph saw him slot in to a solid eighth place, just over three seconds adrift of fifth place. On the second lap, Ryan was pushed back a place by regular sparring partner from the Irish roads Keith Amor, a position he maintained on lap three. As the race wore on, the handling troubles that Ryan had suffered in practice returned and he was unable to run at the pace that he had done on the opening two laps and, by the end of lap 4, he had slipped back one more place to 10th. Nevertheless, another 126mph+ lap on the final circuit saw Ryan hold on to his position and he was able to pick up another silver replica for his efforts, also being the first Kawasaki rider home. Speaking afterwards, Ryan said, “It’s good to get a finish on the Superbike and although the bike wasn’t handling as I would have liked, we brought the bike home. On the smooth sections of the course, the bike was spot-on but through the bumpy stuff it was a real handful and difficult work. I was hoping to finish in the top 8 but the changes we’d made to the bike didn’t quite work out whilst I also caught a few backmarkers in the wrong places, which lost me a bit of time, and I had a huge moment on the first lap at the end of the Mountain Mile. I went through the corner on exactly the same line and at the same speed as normal but the front just tucked under and I was lucky to stay on – my eyes went about three times bigger than normal! When I went through there on the second lap, there was a huge black line from where I’d lost it but we held on and I was pleased to get to the finish. Monday will, hopefully, see me closer to the front so let’s hope today’s my worst result of the week.” Ryan has two races on Monday when he’ll be riding his own KMR Kawasaki’s in the 4-lap Superstock and Supersport races.