By After a two hour delay Martin Bullock Manxsport’s David Lumsden got the famous tap on the shoulder from Paul Kermode, to get this years much anticipated Mylchreests Junior Manx GP underway.
First timing point at Glen Helen saw practice week pace setter Matt Stevenson, move into a two second lead in front of last years Newcomers A runner up Darryl Tweed.
By the time racers reached Ramsey Hairpin, Tritan backed Stevenson upped the race lead to nigh on five seconds, which then extended to just over nine seconds at the Bungalow.
Topping the 119 mph lap mark, Stevenson held at the completion of lap 1 of roughly 13.7 seconds, as Carl Roberts Racing’s James Chawke occupied second, whilst third, fourth and fifth placed respectively Dean Osborne, Dave Butler and Wayne Humble were all closely matched.
Notable retirements on lap 1 included Norway’s Erik Kjuus and Stagefreight Haulage backed Steven Procter.
Lap two saw new Peoples Bike team member Stevenson continue his relentless charge to class honours. Nearly 19 seconds clear out front upon leaving Ramsey Hairpin, it seemed like he had the race in the bag.
Drama struck though, when it was announced that he had crashed out of contention uninjured, at Creg Ny Ba. Following his incident due to a braking error, this left nearest pursuer James Chawke with a now more than moderate race lead.
From here rising Irish roads star Chawke, held off tenacious challenges from the likes of Dean Osborne, Dave Butler, and Darryl Tweed to secure the 2018 Mylchreests Junior Manx Grand Prix title.
Delighted, over the moon, amazed at becoming a Manx GP race winner, his reaction in the winners enclosure showcases what it means to triumph around the fabled Mountain Course.
Banking second, just 4.44 behind Chawke was Dean Osborne who took his Manx GP podium finishes tally into triple figures.
With Darryl Tweed’s challenge for a podium placing, coming to an end at Quarry Bends due to running out of fuel, this left the final spot on the podium to ultimately be clinched by The Peoples Bikes Team mainstay, Stephen Parsons.
Photo by Nick Wheeler
Acquiring fourth following a highly accomplished performance was reigning Newcomers A class champion Brad Vicars, whilst fifth placed Wayne Humble also quietly ultra impressed.
Lead Suzuki runner Stephen Smith was sixth, Skerries Andy Farrell was a solid seventh as Martin Bullock Manxsport’s David Lumsden, Italy’s Francesco Curinga and Manx GP returnee Morgan Govignon rounded out the top ten finishers.
It’s more than worth mentioning as well the exploits of Spaniard Victor Lopez Santos, finishing a more than respectable 11th.
Race results:
1 James Chawke
2 Dean Osborne
3 Stephen Parsons
4 Brad Vicars
5 Wayne Humble
6 Stephen Smith
7 Andy Farrell
8 David Lumsden
9 Francesco Curinga
10 Morgan Govignon
11 Victor Lopez Santos
12 Damian Horan
13 Dave Butler
14 Gareth Evans
15 Stuart Hall
16 Thomas Maxwell
17 Chris Cook
18 Andrew Fisher
19 Marc Colvin
20 Miroslav Sloboda
21 Jason Corcoran
22 Steven Horne
23 Michael Hand
24 Gaz Evans
25 Adrian Hartog
26 Brendan Fargher
27 Shaun Evans
28 Dennis Booth
29 Leon Murphy
30 John Pilloud
31 Callum Ward
32 James Field
33 Teddy Bresson
34 Arnie Shelton
35 Andy Lovett
36 Colin Croft
37 Nick Southerwood
38 Richard Stubbs
39 Dave Quine
40 Andy Hayes
41 Tommy Henry
42 Nige Rea
43 Kevin Barsby
44 Chris Sarbora
45 Stuart McCann
46 Ross Orchard
47 Jason Heritage
48 Peter Moore
49 Sebastian Witt
50 Lloyd Collins
51 David Murphy
52 Andreas Psychogyios
53 Ramon Basomba
54 Alan Johnston
55 Iain Hill
56 Richard Duncan
57 Paul Battersby
58 Christian Slater
59 Jordan McFerran
Words by Stevie Rial
