By York’s Joey Thompson will have the honour of leading away this month’s PE sponsored Lightweight Manx Grand Prix.
‘Joey Yorkshire’, many times a race winner on two stroke tackle at Oliver’s Mount, prime apparatus is his own teams’ Seventy-Four Racing Yamaha.
Starting ten seconds behind is ten times TT winner, Laycock Racing’s Ian Lougher.
Lougher’s Laycock Racing team-mate, twice successive class victor Michael Browne retains the three-plate.
Banbridge’s Shaun Anderson is assigned the four-plate, the five-plate is carried by Jim Hind (own team – TZ250 Yamaha), who was agonisingly close to race spoils in 2022, before technical gremlins arose.
Next racer scheduled to descend, down Bray Hill is Mountain Course yardstick, TT wins record-holder Michael Dunlop astride his own outfit’s RS 250 Honda.
Chasin the Racin host, fans favourite Dominic Herbertson is equipped with the seven-plate whilst start numbers eight, nine, ten have been taken up by Paul Jordan, last year’s Senior race winner Joe Yeardsley (Neil Wood Painting and Decorating – ZXR 400 Kawasaki) and KTM Moto 3 propelled Michael Evans, racing in honour of the late great Gary Vines for Faraldo Racing.
Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen plate holders Nathan Harrison (H&H Motorcycles – RVF 400 Honda), Chris Moore (Outhwaite Plant/iHeat/Silverstar – TZ 250 Yamaha), Mountain Course racing returnee Lee Johnston, Gareth Arnold (Jenar Racing – TZ 250 Yamaha), all have the race craft to attain excellent results.
Same notion applies to race starters 15-20, Dan Sayle, the dominant two-stroke force this year at Scarborough, Whippet Racing’s Stuart Hall, Rhys Hardisty, European Hill Climb Superbike Champion Maurizio Bottalico, Michal ‘Indi’ Dokoupil and CSC Racing’s Michael Sweeney.
Top 400cc pilot in 2023 Paul Cassidy, Stefano Bonetti, France’s only MGP newcomer of 2024 Etienne Huon De Penanster are additional confirmed Lightweight race entrants.
Lightweight Manx Grand Prix – first twenty starters re-cap:
1 – Joey Thompson
2 – Ian Lougher
3 – Michael Browne
4 – Shaun Anderson
5 – Jim Hind
6 – Michael Dunlop
7 – Dominic Herbertson
8 – Paul Jordan
9 – Joe Yeardsley
10 – Michael Evans
11 – Nathan Harrison
12 – Chris Moore
13 – Lee Johnston
14 – Gareth Arnold
15 – Dan Sayle
16 – Stuart Hall
17 – Rhys Hardisty
18 – Maurizio Bottalico
19 – Michal Dokoupil
20 – Michael Sweeney
Photo credit: Mark Corlett
Words by Stevie Rial #dontletfearcontrolyou
