The opening race at this years international Southern 100 road races began in bright sunny conditions all around the Billown road race circuit. It was Guy Martin who made a superb start on the Tyco Suzuki by TAS superbike and mid way through lap 1 Guy lead Michael Dunlop by around 1.5 seconds with Dan Kneen and Dean Harrison battling over third place.
At the end of lap 1 Martin lead Dunlop by a considerable distance whilst Dean Harrison moved into third place on the RC Express racing Kawasaki by MSS performance in front of Dan Kneen who occupied fourth place in front of Jamie Hamilton, Ian Lougher and Michael Pearson who held seventh place at the end of lap 1.
Onto lap 2 and Martin still lead Dunlop but the gap was coming down as Dunlop was starting to get into a good rhythm on the Honda TT legends racing superbike. Dean Harrison still held third place and wasn’t to far behind Martin and Dunlop in a race which was quickly becoming a three way scrap for race victory.
As lap 2 finished Martin still lead but now by only around a second as Dunlop and Harrison both lapped quicker on lap 2. Jamie Hamilton was now into fourth place in front of Dan Kneen whilst Michael Pearson held sixth place on the team Hotties Thermal packs racing team SR1000 BMW.
Lap 3 saw Guy Martin still lead out front but the gap was coming down further and further as Michael Dunlop was on a charge as he chased down the Tyco Suzuki by TAS rider. Dean Harrison remained in third place not to far behind Martin and Dunlop whilst Jamie Hamilton continued to occupy fourth position.
The end of lap 3 saw Martin continue to lead but now the gap was down to half a second with Dunlop lapping in the 112 mph bracket. Dean Harrison, Jamie Hamilton, Michael Pearson, Ian Lougher and Dan Kneen rounded out the top 7 at the end of lap 3.
So lap 4 beckoned and now Dunlop was right behind Martin with Harrison keeping close company in third place. As lap 4 came to a close Guy Martin still lead Michael Dunlop but by around only 0.2 of a second, Dean Harrison was third in front of Jamie Hamilton on the KMR Kawasaki powered by Vauxhall superstock bike.
Lap 5 saw Michael Dunlop hit the front, Michael opened up a lead of over 1.3 seconds over Guy Martin as lap 5 finished, Dean Harrison still held third place but was now reeling Guy Martin in. A great battle was developing for fifth place as Dan Kneen, Ian Lougher and Michael Pearson where all locked in battle.
Laps 6 and 7 saw no change in positions out at the front of the race but Michael Dunlop had now over 3 seconds advantage over Guy Martin in second place whilst Dean Harrison was keeping close proximity as the battle between Guy and Dean for second place captured the imagination of everyone around the Southern 100 road race circuit.
On the final lap Michael Dunlop crossed the line to take a brilliant race win in the 600/1000 race at the Southern 100. Michael took race victory by 3.8 seconds over Dean Harrison who edged out Guy Martin for second place. A fantastic ride from Dean on the RC Express racing Kawasaki by MSS performance superbike.
Jamie Hamilton finished in a fine fourth place in front of Dan Kneen who produced a fantastic ride on the Mark Blooms racing GSX-R 1000 Suzuki. Ian Lougher, Michael Pearson, William Dunlop, Russ Mountford and Paul Shoesmith rounded out the top 10 whilst Jochen-Van-Der-Hoek came home as best Southern 100 newcomer in the race finishing in 16th place.
William Dunlop won the 600 part of the 600/1000 race on the Milwaukee Yamaha R6 supersport bike in front of James Coward on the Barnes racing R6 Yamaha whilst Tim Poole finished in third on the AIR Kawasaki ZX6 supersport bike. Ivan Lintin and Mark Goodings completed the top 5 during the 600 part of the 600/1000 race.