Leading contenders quickly up to speed in first outing for Superbikes At the fourth time of asking, practice for the 2013 Isle of Man TT races, fuelled by Monster Energy, went ahead exactly as scheduled and with conditions around the Mountain Course ideal, a sigh of relief could be heard all across the Island. With dry roads, good visibility and sunny intervals, the Superbikes were finally let loose in anger and it was little surprise to see all the fancied runners go out on those machines first with James Hillier and Gary Johnson the first riders to blast off down Glenctruchery Road. They were soon followed by Cameron Donald, Michael Rutter, Guy Martin, Bruce Anstey, Michael Dunlop and Dan Kneen whilst John McGuinness was in his customary position further back, setting off in the sixth pairing. News soon came through though that both Dunlop and Kneen had stopped with mechanical problems at Glen Darragh Road and the Highlander respectively. First to complete the lap was Johnson at 125.73 with Rutter going slightly quicker at 125.76 although they were both upstaged significantly by Martin who lapped at a shade under 128mph. McGuinness’ opening lap was a more leisurely 120.25 as he stopped briefly at Ballacraine. Meanwhile, Dunlop had managed to get back to the pits and rejoined the action on his 600cc machine, lapping at 122.67. A few riders including Johnson, Hillier, Donald and Dan Cooper stopped to make adjustments but many carried straight through with Anstey briefly going to the top of the leaderboard with a lap of 128.05. McGuinness soon bettered that with a speed of 129.07 but other riders were encountering problems, Dan Stewart stopping at Ramsey Hairpin and Conor Cummins at Governor’s Bridge. Anstey and McGuinness both pitted but on their fourth lap they both broke the 129mph barrier with the Kiwi on 129.14 and the Morecambe Missile on 129.32. Rutter and Martin again lapped in excess of 127mph with Dunlop joining them whilst newcomers Josh Brookes and Branko Srdanov were flying, both breaking the 120mph mark. The Aussie posted no less than three 120mph+ laps, the best at 121.99, with the Dutchman lapping at 120.11. William Dunlop, Jim Hodson and Lee Johnston were also retirments but the Norton machines were lapping well, Ian Mackman the quickest at 119.55. As the full solo session drew to a close, riders just contesting the Lightweight race were given a two-minute window to get out on track and all duly obliged, TT rider liaison officer John Barton with 109.99 going marginally quicker than Chris Palmer (109.89mph). At 8pm, the Formula Two sidecars got another session and with conditions remaining ideal, it was a packed field that lined up. Dave Molyneux/Patrick Farrance, Ben and Tom Birchall, Gary Bryan/Jamie Winn, Conrad Harrison/Mike Aylott and Dougie Wright/Martin Hull were the first crews to blast off although Tim Reeves/Dan Sayle had to make a few last-minute adjustments before heading off towards Bray Hill. Molyneux/Farrance were first back with a lap of 112.62 with the Birchalls, Holden and Reeves all over 111mph but Roy Hanks/Kevin Perry and Karl Bennett/Lee Cain were early retirements. On their second lap Molyneux/Farrance increased their pace to 113.56 but Reeves/Sayle weren’t too far behind on 113.15 with the Birchalls and Harrison/Aylott practically inseperable on 112.19 and 112.18. The session was brought to a premature end with a red flag situation following an incident at Grahams with sidecar duo David Saunders/Anne Garnish. The pair were reported to be talking to medics at the scene but were taken to Nobles Hospital for further assessment. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Tyco Suzuki’s Guy Martin and Josh Brookes were well in the thick of the action during tonight’s qualifying sessions on the Isle of Man as sunshine finally greeted all competitors for the 2013 TT Festival. Martin set the quickest opening Superbike lap at 127.925mph on is GSX-R1000 to keep him within striking distance of his main rivals John McGuinness, Bruce Anstey and Michael Rutter. In the Supersport class, Martin was third on his Tyco Suzuki GSX-R600 with a lap-speed of 122.233mph. His team-mate Josh Brookes continues to steal much of the limelight on his TT debut after a lap of 121.99mph – and the fastest Grandstand Speed-Trap time of 180.5mph keeps him well ahead as top newcomer. Guy Martin: “We have a few changes to make on the Superbike but we are going in the right direction. I’ve still got to get up to speed a bit but the rear Metzeler on the Superbike was brilliant tonight and the front is really egging me on. It was a good night but we need much the same tomorrow.” Josh Brookes: “I really enjoyed it tonight and the laps came to me pretty naturally, but that’s exactly what we need, is laps, after missing a couple of sessions. The Superbike is spot on and the Metzeler tyres are working really well for me. The Superstock bike needs a bit more work but that’s only because I’m not used to riding it, although we are going in the right direction.” Philip Neill – Team Manager: “After a tough start to the week it was great to have a virtually trouble-free run and a decent bit of weather. Guy got three Superbike laps and two on the Supersport bike and is well within striking distance on both GSX-R machines. Josh just continues to impress and was very relaxed tonight despite all the hype and just cracked on with the job. The times are coming for him but they will slow-up as expected, but he’s approaching the event with respect and doing a professional job. More of the same tomorrow night would leave us in decent shape for Saturday’s Superbike TT.” Thursday Qualifying: Superbike Times: John McGuinness [Honda] 129.072mph [17mins:32.338sec] Bruce Anstey [Honda] 129.143mph [17:31.759] Michael Rutter [Honda] 128.002mph [17:41.132] Guy Martin [Suzuki] 127.925mph [17:41.777] Michael Dunlop [Honda] 127.656mph [17:44.011] Cameron Donald [Honda] 126.964mph [17:49.811] Josh Brookes [Tyco Suzuki] 121.99mph Supersport Times: Michael Dunlop 122.670mph William Dunlop 122.259mph Guy Martin 122.233mph Bruce Anstey 122.099mph Cameron Donald 121.973mph Gary Johnson 120.609mph