Gary Johnson achieved his first Isle of Man TT Races victory when he clinched the second Monster Energy Supersport race on Thursday afternoon winning by 8.4s from fellow Honda rider John McGuinness. Johnson was in control throughout the race, leading from start to finish. He was already three seconds clear of McGuinness by the first checkpoint at Glen Helen on the opening lap, a lead he’d amazingly trebled by the time the riders swept through Ramsey Hairpin. Race favourite Michael Dunlop was already out though, the Street Sweep Yamaha rider having stopped at Ballacraine although he later proceeded after making lengthy adjustments, his opening lap almost 46 minutes! An opening lap of 125.587mph gave Johnson the lead though and the Lincolnshire rider had a gap of almost ten seconds but the battle for second was extremely close, with McGuinness, Martin, Donald, Bruce Anstey and Dan Kneen separated by just six seconds. Johnson continued to extend his lead and he went quicker still on his second circuit of the Mountain Course, a lap of 125.892mph putting him 15 seconds clear of McGuinness, an almost unprecedented margin in the Supersport class. Donald was the man on the move though, the Australian relegating Martin to fourth with Kneen was also moving up the leaderboard, the Marks Bloom Racing Yamaha man overhauling Anstey for fifth. As the leaders made their pit stops, news from Ramsey Hairpin came through that the red flag was being shown with a number of riders stopping including David Hewson, Dan Cooper, Bill Callister and David Madsen-Mygdal but there was no word from race control of any issue and the race at the front continued, the riders who stopped eventually getting going, later to be credited the time lost. McGuinness and Johnson were pressing ahead but Martin had now dropped time and,after being only half a second down on Donald at the end of lap,that lead had stretched to 10 seconds at Glen Helen, later revealed to be due to having seen a red flag as he swept through Union Mills. Indeed, at Glen Helen, the order was Johnson, Donald, McGuinness, Martin and Kneen, Johnson’s lead now standing at 10.9s, four ahead of McGuinness with Martin now 8s further back in fourth. Going into the final lap and Johnson maintained an 11s advantage over Donald who was now edging away from McGuinness who was circulating on his own at the head of the field. Kneen was out at Crosby, a cruel end to a fine ride, whilst Donald nibbled away at Johnson’s lead throughout the lap but his Honda expired at Signpost, less than 2 miles from home. That enabled McGuinness to move up to second with Martin, Amor and Anstey all promoted up the order to 3rd, 4th and 5th. There was double heartbreak for the Wilson Craig Honda team with William Dunlop dropping out of 8th in the closing stages, his engine also having expired. The late flurry of retirements allowed Conor Cummins to move up to sixth, his best finish of this year’s TT, with Ben Wylie having his best ever TT finish in seventh, again the first Privateer to finish. Roy Richardson, James Hillier and Mark Buckley completed the top ten with a superb ride coming from newcomer Dean Harrison in 12th place. The results mean that McGuinness now has 76pts at the top of the TT Championship, 17 clear of Amor, whilst Ian Mackman’s retirement means its closed up in the battle for the Privateers Championship. He remains on 61 points with Wylie on 50 and Buckley on 49. To listen live to Radio TT’s commentary for all races and follow live timing at the 2011 Isle of Man TT Races go to www.iomtt.com More, from a press release issued by John McGuinness’ publicist: Yet another TT podium for McGuinness John McGuinness scored his first Supersport TT podium finish since 2008 when he finished 2nd in Thursday’s race at the 2011 Isle of Man TT races. Postponed to 12.15pm after the initial race was red flagged due to rain on Wednesday, John held second for the majority of the race and although he was pushed back to 3rd on lap 3, he took 2nd place at the chequered flag after a thrilling final lap ended when Cameron Donald retired within 2 miles from the finish. On the Padgetts Honda for the final time this week, conditions were a lot more favourable for today’s race and an opening lap of 124.470mph saw John immediately slot into 2nd place. Race leader Gary Johnson was setting a ferocious pace though and had opened up a near ten second lead over John with the Morecambe man having his hands full with the group of riders behind him, just six seconds separating John in 2nd and Dan Kneen in 6th. Johnson was away with it at the front but an increased second lap speed of 125.276mph saw John consolidate his second place although it was still tight with Donald and Guy Martin both within five seconds. Donald managed to overhaul John on the third lap by almost five seconds but on the fourth and final lap, John continued to eat into the Australian’s lead and it was down to 2.5s as they swept through Ramsey Hairpin setting it up for a thrilling finale. John crossed the line with his best lap of the race, 125.629mph, to finish 8.4s behind debut winner Johnson but 13 seconds clear of third placed man Guy Martin, Donald having ground to a halt at Signpost Corner. The runner up spot was John’s 32nd podium and also his 50th TT finish to continue his remarkable feats around the Mountain Course. Speaking afterwards, a delighted John said: “To get my 32nd podium and 50th TT finish today feels absolutely fantastic and it was another thoroughly enjoyable race. I’m a bit rusty on the 600 as I only ride it a couple of times a year but I’d learnt a bit from following Keith (Amor) in the first race so had a real good go on the first lap. Fair play to Gary, he was riding really well and simply going faster than me but the bike was absolutely faultless and never missed a beat. I gave it my best from beginning to end, like I always do, and you can’t do much more than that. That’s three rides on the Padgetts bikes this week and three great results so massive credit to Clive and the boys for giving me a great package this week. I’m happy with the result and delighted to be on the podium again whilst notching up my 50th finish is something special. The only strange thing about the race was that I never saw a sole for the entire 4 laps – I never overtook anyone, no-one came by me, I never saw a break down, never saw a flag, nothing. It was the first race where I haven’t hit a bird though so at least that’s something!” John’s final race of TT2011 is the 6-lap Senior race where he’ll be back out on the Honda TT Legends Superbike, the race getting underway at 12.15pm. More, from a press release issued by Keith Amor’s publicist: Amor frustrated by 4th place TT finish Keith Amor was left rueing what might have been on Thursday when a gearbox problem meant he could only finish 4th in Thursday’s re-scheduled three-lap Supersport race. After crashing out of Wednesday’s race, which was ultimately stopped due to the rain that fetched him off, Keith switched to his spare bike for the re-run but the bike had the incorrect gearbox fitted and although he was flying through the twisty sections of the course, his bike was almost 20kph down along the straights leaving him a very frustrated man. Fortunately uninjured in Wednesday’s crash, that was dramatically captured by the ITV4 cameras, it was clear all was not well on the first lap when Keith was down in 8th place in a class he’s normally so strong in and the problem lay with the gearbox and he spent most of the race with the bike constantly hitting the rev limiter. Worried about the stress the motor was going through, Keith pressed on as much as he could and increased his pace to 124.651mph on the second lap despite slowing for a red flag that was incorrectly displayed. This alone cost him up to ten seconds. Circulating on the road with Guy Martin and Cameron Donald, Keith gave it 110% from beginning to end and with a final lap of 125.497mph, his best of the race, he was rewarded with a fighting 4th place at the end of the four laps, his fourth top four result of the week. However, had it not been for the aforementioned problems, Keith felt he could have been in with a great chance of the victory as he explained. “To say I’m frustrated is an understatement as today was my best chance of a victory but I was denied by the problem with the bike. After the crash on Wednesday, that bike was too badly damaged to use today so I had to switch to my spare bike, the same one which I used last year. However, when it got rebuilt over the winter, the kit gearbox had been replaced by a standard one, something we were unaware of, and we really paid for it today. I was on the limiter throughout and although I was quicker than Guy and Cameron through the twisty stuff, they were absolutely nailing me on the straights and when you’re almost 20kph down along the straights, you haven’t got a chance.” “On the first lap I was having to roll it everywhere as I was worried about the bike going bang but the boys at the pit stop said to keep going until it did go bang – but luckily it didn’t! Then both Guy and I saw a red flag at Union Mills and I must have lost almost ten seconds because of that as it wasn’t until Ballagarey that we got going again when Cameron came flying by us. I also hit a bird at Gorse Lea which, luckily, I caught out of the corner of my eye so managed to duck to avoid it – it was definitely an eventful race. 4th’s a decent finish but I know it could have been so much better and I’m very frustrated because of that – I know I could have won today’s race. All I can say is that the Honda is a terrific little engine as it went through a lot today and never missed a beat.” Keith will be back out on the Honda TT Legends Superbike tomorrow for his final race of TT2011, the 6-lap Senior event. More, from a press release issued by Centurion Racing: Cooper Cracks Top Twenty In Supersport TT Dan Cooper and the Cornwall-based Centurion Racing team picked up their third bronze replica in as many races when they finished in a superb 20th place in this afternoon’s Monster Energy Supersport Race Two at the Isle of Man TT. With the initial race being red flagged on Wednesday due to rain, the race was re-scheduled for 12.15pm today and Dan claimed his best ever TT result to date, although the race was again not without drama. A superb opening lap of 117.882mph on the 675cc Triumph Daytona saw Dan, from Stroud, slot into 21st place but just as he was making good progress up the leaderboard on the second lap, he was met by a red flag at Ramsey and pulled in. It soon transpired that the red flag had been shown in error so Dan, and a number of other riders, were allowed to continue, later being credited with the time lost. Unsurprisingly, it unsettled his rhythm slightly although he never slipped lower than 22nd in the race and a flying last lap of 117.876mph meant Dan climbed back up to 20th place at the end of the four laps for yet another bronze replica. Speaking afterwards Dan said; “I had a good, clean first lap although it didn’t feel that fast but when I got to Ramsey on the second lap, I got the red flag so I pulled up, leant the bike against the wall and got off as did about five more riders. Michael Dunlop then went through at full racing speed and the commentator came out and said the red flag was put out by mistake so we all looked at each other, jumped back on and set off again! We lost about a minute in total and it was like having two pit stops so I took it steady to begin with to let the tyres get back up to speed and then had a real good go again on the final lap. I’m still a bit disappointed that my speeds haven’t gone up as much as I would have liked but it’ll come and the end result of 20th is brilliant. I’m just looking forward to a good, safe ride on the big bike tomorrow and ending the week on a positive note.” Team manager and owner Paul Rees added: “I keep saying it but we’re chuffed to bits with Dan and although the red flag obviously upset his rhythm, the organisers did the sensible thing and credited him with the time. To be on the edge of the top 20 on the first lap was a superb effort but we couldn’t work out what had happened on the second lap as his transponder never moved beyond Ramsey. He got back up to 20th by the end though, which in just his second year, is a great ride and we couldn’t be happier with Dan’s riding. We’ve had no problems with the bike at all and the team has gelled so well, the fortnight so far has gone faultlessly. On and off the track, Dan’s efforts are really pleasing and everyone’s been saying how smooth he looks out on the circuit so there’s a lot of potential there and plenty more to come. We’re just looking forward to the Senior now and are hopeful of another strong result. A fourth bronze replica would be absolutely brilliant.” The Blue Riband event, the six-lap Pokerstars Senior TT, gets underway at 12.15pm tomorrow. Centurion Racing will continue to show their support for Help for Heroes, their chosen charity, by displaying H4H logos on the bikes’ new livery designed by Rage Designs and team attire. Dan’s race helmet has been kindly donated by Arai and will be a one-off design by RichArt showing both the H4H and IOM TT logos. Team Principal Paul Rees, who spent 20 years in Her Majesty’s Royal Marine Commandos, was given permission to have the bikes carry the H4H logos in order to encourage the public to be more aware of this charity that supports our Armed Forces, many of whom are making daily sacrifices in Afghanistan and Iraq. Centurion Racing would specially like to thank Arai, FTR, GPR Racewear, Dunlop, Rage Designs, RichArt, R2 Logo Print & Embroidery, Akrapovic, Daytona, and Alan Smith of Smiths of Gloucester for personally supporting Dan, and all our friends and followers. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Guy Martin took his third podium of TT 2011 for Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing to a fine third place in today’s second Supersport race on the Isle of Man. But the race was tainted with controversy: Martin was well within striking distance of a podium finish for the duration of the four lap battle, but red flags incorrectly displayed at Ramsey and Union Mills, put a question mark over the credibility of today’s Supersport race. At the end of lap one, Martin was just over a second down on John McGuinness in third place with fellow Pirelli runner Gary Johnson at the head of proceedings, a further 10 seconds in front of McGuinness. Pitting for fuel at the end of lap two, Martin was less than five seconds down on second place, but the red flag incident on lap three at Union Mills certainly hampered his progress and upset his rhythm, so a podium finish – his 12th at the TT – was a brave effort in the circumstances. Guy Martin: “I’m happy to get another podium for the team and our sponsors but what happened out there is just not right. They need to get the job sorted. I saw the red flag at Union Mills and backed off for about three miles, so I lost a lot of time but it’ll all come out in the wash. It’s another consistent result and a good one for the new GSX-R600. We can now look forward to the Senior tomorrow where a good result would cap a decent TT.” Philip Neill – Team Manager: “It was another solid day for us and as I’ve said already this week, you can’t come to the TT nowadays and expect to win. You can only do the best possible job and put yourself in with a podium chance and we’ve done that again today; it’s another great result for the all-new GSX-R600. For that I must give credit to Guy and our whole team. The bike never missed a beat, the Pirelli tyres were exceptional and this result sets Guy up well for the Senior TT tomorrow. “The third place is a little tainted in Guy’s eyes because of what happened with the red flags being displayed when they shouldn’t have. It’s been reported to the officials and we have been assured it will be handled in the best possible manner.” Supersport Race 2 Result: 1 Gary Johnson [Honda] – 1hr 13.07.95sec 2 John McGuinness [Honda] – 1hr 13.16.35sec 3 Guy Martin [Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing] – 1hr 13.29.28sec 4 Keith Amor [Honda] – 1hr 13.37.67sec 5 Bruce Anstey [Honda] – 1hr 13.43.85sec 6 Conor Cummins [Kawasaki] – 1hr 15.24.68sec