McGuinness sets early TT pace Morecambe’s John McGuinness got his 2011 Isle of Man TT campaign underway on Monday evening and although conditions were far from ideal around the Mountain Course, the Honda TT Legends rider was able to top the leaderboard with a lap of 122.838mph before the session was ended early due to heavy rain on the mountain. Dry, sunny conditions during the day gave way to cloud in the evening with the west part of the Island affected by rain, and the riders had to contend with damp roads from Glen Helen all the way through to Ramsey. Opting to leave the line late, John set off with team-mate Keith Amor and the duo spent two entire laps circulating in close formation and after a steady opening lap, John pressed on a little more second time around with his lap of 122.838mph saw him top the Superbike times ahead of Amor and fellow Honda rider Gary Johnson. He then returned to the pits before jumping on the Padgetts Honda Superstock bike but he’d only managed a third of a lap when the session was curtailed due to the aforementioned rain. Speaking afterwards John said, “It was a bit greasy out there tonight, dusty and windy in places too, so I just had a bit of a cruise round on the opening lap to see where it was bad and where it wasn’t. I also had to borrow a back protector off Keith as I couldn’t find mine and it was all a bit of a panic! It was good to be back out there though and get the first laps out of the way and although it still wasn’t great, I was able to press on a little bit more second time around. It was starting to spit with rain over the Mountain though so I just backed off a bit and brought the bike home. I then went out on the Padgetts bike before getting the red flag so it was a shame we couldn’t get a whole session in but 2 laps on the big bike were definitely valuable. Having done all the Endurance racing, I feel really race sharp and the bike’s feeling a million dollars so I’m glad we’re all up and running now and can look forward to the rest of practice week in a good frame of mind.” Practice continues tomorrow with the second session due to get underway at 6.20pm. More, from a press release issued by Isle of Man TT Press Office: COMPETITORS BEGIN QUALIFYING AT 2011 ISLE OF MAN TT RACES Qualifying for the 2011 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy got underway on Monday evening and although conditions were far from ideal, both the solos and sidecars were able to get in two laps although the solo’s had begun a third lap when the session was red flagged early due to heavy rain on the Mountain. Sunshine during the day gave way to cloud by the time the roads were closed and although Douglas remained dry, roads around the course were damp with Glen Helen to Ramsey the main section affected. In a break from the usual schedule, the sidecars were out first on the course to give the solo riders who had been competing at the Thruxton BSB round, which included Michael Rutter, Dan Kneen, James Hillier and Ian Lougher, time to make it to the Island for the session. So, at 6.29pm TT2011 was up and running and once Roy Hanks, John Holden, Tony Baker and Greg Lambert had taken the large batch of sidecar newcomers around for their sighting lap, the session commenced with Simon Neary/Jason Crowe, Klaus Klaffenbock/Daniel Sayle, Tim Reeves/Gregory Cluze, Conrad Harrison//Mike Aylott and Tony Elmer/Darren Marshall the first crews to leave the line. The damp conditions could clearly be seen in the opening lap times with Klaffenbock quickest at 107.407mph followed by Neary at 106.971mph and Elmer at 103.234mph. Second time around and road conditions improved slightly allowing Klaffenbock to move up to 110.911mph and Elmer to 106.977mph. Reeves was quicker too at 105.576mph despite hitting a pheasant at Kerromoar but Neary was in trouble though, losing passenger Crowe at Ramsey whilst Roy Hanks, Greg Lambert and Gordon Shand were all early retirements. At 7.30pm, the solos were out on the course and rider liaison officers John Barton and Richard Quayle escorted Simon Andrews, Dean Harrison, Daniel Hegarty, PiotrBetlej, Robert Wilson and Lee Vernon for their sighting lap before the main contenders got their first taste of the Mountain Course this year. It was Michael Dunlop and Guy Martin who got the session underway at 7.50pm, the Northern Irishman out on his Superstock machine and the Lincolnshire man opting for his Superbike. Following them were Bruce Anstey, Adrian Archibald, Paul Owen, Ian Mackman, Luis Carreira and Ryan Farquhar, the latter having his first outing on his new Superbike mount. Meanwhile Honda team-mates John McGuinness and Keith Amor were two of the last to leave the line with Michael Rutter only getting as far as the end of pitlane before returning back to the paddock on his Ducati Superstock bike. The BSB star had earlier received a medical as soon as he reached the paddock after his spill at Thruxton earlier in the day. Martin was the first to complete a lap at 121.380mph with Dunlop and Anstey not too far behind at 119.820mph and 118.793mph respectively, the relatively low speeds indication of the damp roads. However, the quickest man on the opening lap was Gary Johnson who took the East Coast Racing Honda round at 122.463mph whilst equally impressive, given the events of 2010, was Conor Cummins’ first lap of 116.063mph on the McAdoo Racing Superstock Kawasaki. Second time around and McGuinness and Amor, who spent the first two laps circulating in close formation, moved to the top of the early Superbike leaderboard with laps of 122.838mph and 122.637mph with Anstey sandwiching the pair on his Superstock at 122.752mph but Martin was in trouble, pushing in to the top of pitlane. Dunlop, who swapped his Superstock bike for his Superbike machine was also in trouble, pulling off the course at Crosby and making his way back to the paddock via the back roads. Luis Carreira was the quickest 600 at 117.612mph just ahead of Kneen whilst Poland’s Betlej was the best of the newcomers at an impressive 107.206mph on his Honda Superstock with Wilson and Harrison at 103.659 and 103.394mph. To listen live to Radio TT’s commentary for all qualifying and Races and follow live timing at the 2011 Isle of Man TT Races go to www.iomtt.com