Isle Of Man: Michael Dunlop Leads Supersport Class
Cycle News Staff | May 29, 2014
Photography courtesy of Isle of Man TT
Conditions weren’t good enough today for the Superbikes to attack the Isle of Man TT course, but there were good enough for the clerk of the course to send out the F2 sidecars and the Supersport and Lightweight motorcycles. It was also good enough for Michael Dunlop to put in a lap of 124.537 mph on his Supersport machine.
The sidecar session, which was ultimately led by John Holden and his passenger Andy Winkle, was stopped at one point by a “civilian emergency” in the Quarter Bridge area that required the use of the roads.
Another incident delayed the start of the motorcycle session with both Evan Walker and Dickie Gale taken to hospital. Walker sustained minor injuries while Gale was reported to have back and knee injuries, according to the TT media center.
Guy Martin and Michael Dunlop led the field away followed by Michael Rutter and William Dunlop, but Ian Hutchinson was out of luck and was soon reported as having retired. Most riders opted for their Supersport machines but Lee Johnston, Keith Amor, David Johnson, Ivan Lintin and James Cowton all took out their Lightweight mounts.
William Dunlop was quickest on the opening lap with a speed of 120.683 mph with Rutter, Josh Brookes and Gary Johnson also over the 120 mph mark but Brookes improved further second time around to 122.011 mph. However, Bruce Anstey went slightly quicker with a lap of 122.290 mph although teammate John McGuinness’ lap of 118.039 mph didn’t tell the whole story as he was the quickest rider up until Ramsey before he eased off through the damp patches.
Right at the end of the session, however, the leaderboard changed again with Michael Dunlop lapping at 124.530 mph – the fastest Supersport lap of the week, with Dean Harrison only five seconds slower at 123.886 mph. Conor Cummins and James Hillier also posted 120-mph plus laps.
In the Lightweight category, the SGS International/KMR Kawasaki machines of Keith Amor and Ryan Farquhar were fastest, with the duo lapping at 116.206 and 115.593 mph, respectively.
