Press Release | May 28, 2019
Harrison Continues to Make Headlines
Dean Harrison, continuing his form from Sunday’s Supersport session, was quickest on the night with a speed of 129.53 mph
This is a press release from Isle of Man TT Races…
Isle of Man (May 28, 2019) – After the rain on Monday, qualifying for the 2019 Isle of Man TT Races fueled by Monster Energy resumed on Tuesday evening with the 1000cc machines getting their first outing on the TT Mountain Course this year.
Dean Harrison, continuing his form from Sunday’s Supersport session, was quickest on the night with a speed of 129.53 mph while Conor Cummins and James Hillier also went well in the Superbike class.
James Hillier was the third rider to break the 128 mph barrier, with a speed of 128.07 mph on his Superbike.
Harrison also topped the Superstock leaderboard but it was a night that saw a number of the other front runners hit trouble including Peter Hickman, who was forced to stop twice on his Smiths Racing BMW Superbike. Sixteen-time TT Race winner Ian Hutchinson was another rider to be experiencing problems and the Yorkshire rider came off his bike at the 11th Milestone although fortunately was reported to be unhurt.
Ian Hutchinson came off his bike at the 11th Milestone, although fortunately was reported to be unhurt.
The second lap saw Conor Cummins increase his pace and he looked to be on course for a 129 mph+ lap before crossing the line at a leisurely 104.96 mph after being black-flagged out on course at Brandywell with the Honda reported to be smoking.
The island was blessed with sunshine throughout Tuesday but there were strong winds all round the 37.73-mile circuit again although riders were informed that they would reduce as the evening wore on. After a slight delay, the session got underway at 6.31 p.m. Harrison’s Silicone Engineering Kawasaki was at the front of the pack on the grid but lost power before he had even set off and the Bradford rider eventually got away mid-pack on his second Superbike.
Michael Rutter (Bathams Racing Honda) and James Hillier (Quattro Plant Wicked Coatings Kawasaki) were first to head down Glencruchery Road – the pair both on Superbikes – followed by Honda Racing teammates Hutchinson and David Johnson, the latter on his Superstock Fireblade.
Gary Johnson (RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki) and Michael Dunlop (Tyco BMW) were next to go with Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) and Lee Johnston (Ashcourt Racing BMW) on their Superstock mounts. However, outright lap-record holder Hickman was soon in trouble, and, after pulling off the circuit at Quarter Bridge, he immediately returned to the pits where he went back out on his Triumph Supersport machine.
Lee Johnston (Ashcourt Racing BMW) on his Superstock mount.
Peter Hickman was forced to return to the pits twice.
Conor Cummins was the early pace setter, posting the best sector times on the opening lap while John McGuinness stopped at Sulby to make adjustments on his opening lap. Dunlop was the first to complete a lap with 126.65 mph but then came into the pits to check tire and gearing. Hutchinson lapped at 125.39 mph with Rutter at 124.22 mph but Cummins went quickest on the opening lap on the Milenco by Padgetts Motorcycles Honda with a speed of 128.09 mph.
Both Dunlop and Hutchinson pulled straight into the pits at the end of lap 1 while Derek McGee was posting the quickest Supersport lap at 122.04 mph. Gary Johnson was another leading rider to have problems on the first lap with his speed of 112.55 mph slightly slower than McGuinness’ lap of 113.50 mph.
Derek McGee posted a Supersport lap at 122.04 mph at the end of lap 1.
The second lap saw Cummins increase his pace and he looked to be on course for a 129 mph+ lap before crossing the line at a leisurely 104.96 mph after being black flagged out on course at Brandywell with the Honda reported to be smoking. Gary Johnson another be stopped, due to a loose camera.
Rutter and David Johnson set the pace on lap two, at 126.48 mph and 126.63 mph respectively, but Harrison topped that with a speed of 126.68 mph on his ZX-10RR Superstock machine. Hickman put in two laps on the Supersport bike, the second of which was 123.92 mph which made him the quickest 600cc machine on the night ahead of McGee.
David Johnson (pictured) came in second and Sam West in third for Superstock qualifying.
Hickman went back out on the Superbike but again hit trouble and pulled off the course for a second time, this time at Douglas Road Corner at Kirk Michael, which signaled the end of his night.
On the fourth lap, Harrison went quickest in the Superstock class with a lap of 129.34 mph, with Hillier the third rider to break the 128 mph barrier with a speed of 128.07 mph on his Superbike. McGuinness went out on the Padgetts Supersport machine before returning to the action on the Norton where he lapped at 123.73 mph.
Harrison continued to make the headlines though and he put in a lap right at the end of the session to move to the top of the Superbike leaderboard with Cummins and Hillier ending the evening in second and third. Harrison remained on top of the Superstock times as well with David Johnson in second and Sam West lapping at just under 125 mph to slot into third.
Sam West placed in third for Superstock qualifying.
The strong winds were clearly keeping speeds down but there were impressive performances from Jamie Coward (126.39), Stefano Bonetti (124.48) and Brian McCormack (124.03) while Kiwi rider Jay Lawrence also again went well on the Buildbase Suzuki with a lap of 122.56 mph.
There were three incidents in the Supersport class. Paul Williams came off at Governors but was reported to be unhurt while Jason Corcoran (Glen Helen) and Emmett Burke (Gooseneck) were taken to Nobles hospital with reported neck and leg injuries respectively.
Isle of Man TT Formula Two Sidecars Qualifying
John Holden/Lee Cain Fastest in First Sidecar Qualifying, but Callum and Ryan Steal the Headlines on TT Mountain Course Debut
John Holden/Lee Cain
Newcomers Ryan and Callum Crowe laid down a stunning 109.76 mph lap on their 675cc Triumph.
After the rain on Monday, qualifying for the 2019 Isle of Man TT Races fueled by Monster Energy resumed on Tuesday evening with the Sidecars getting their first outing on the TT Mountain Course this year
The Formula Two Sidecars went out just before 8.05pm and there was little to choose between Ben and Tom Birchall and John Holden/Lee Cain in the early sectors on the opening lap but the latter set the best opening lap with a speed of 114.99 mph.
The Birchalls slowed towards the end of the lap and finished with 111.55 mph which put them fifth quickest with Pete Founds/Jevan Walmsley (112.90), Alan Founds/Jake Lowther (111.89) and Lewis Blackstock/Patrick Rosney (111.80 mph) all slotting in ahead of them.
Alan Founds/Jake Lowther
Two of the front runners had problems though with Tim Reeves/Mark Wilkes stopping to make adjustments with Dave Molyneux/Harry Payne retiring at Laurel Bank but arguably the biggest story came from newcomers Ryan and Callum Crowe, the sons of former five-time TT Race winner Nick Crowe lapping at a stunning 109.76 mph on their 675cc Triumph.
Pete Founds/Jevan Walmsley
Second time around and Founds/Walmsley upped their pace to 114.40 mph, which was only 2.2 seconds off their best-ever lap of the Mountain Course, whilst brother Alan went slightly quicker with a speed of 112.35 mph. Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes also clocked a 112+mph lap (112.291) at the end of the session on their second lap.
Alan Founds/Jake Lowther
Estelle Leblond/Frank Claeys and Gary Bryan/Phil Hyde both lapped in excess of 108 mph with the returning Allan Schofield, with Steve Thomas in the chair, also going well at 107.88 mph. Maria Costello/Julie Canipa enjoyed a couple of laps with their best (99.369) just shy of the 100 mph mark on Maria’s first full laps as a sidecar competitor.
For further information, visit www.iomttraces.com
