Supersport:
With more than adequate conditions greeting competitors, the Supersport pace rocketed up on Friday evening, with up to six riders, lapping in excess of 122 mph.
Setting the fastest lap speed of the night, was Silicone Engineering Racing’s Dean Harrison, who lapped at 124.353 mph.
In form and tipped by many to contend for Supersport honours against the likes of second and third fastest Michael Dunlop and Ian Hutchinson, the 600 races next week, could well prove special ones for the reigning Duke Road Race Rankings champion.
JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s James Hillier finished fourth quickest, whilst Conor Cummins, Riders Motorcycles Martin Jessopp, Peter Hickman on the TROOPER Triumph, Dan Kneen, Jamie Coward, William Dunlop, Bruce Anstey and Gary Johnson all showed accomplished form.
In my opinion, the undoubted standout performance of tonight’s practice session, was from ultra impressive TT newcomer Adam McLean, lapping at an excellent 119.062 mph.
Fellow newcomers Paul Jordan and Joe Thompson both cracked the 114 mph mark, as they lap by lap build up their knowledge of the momentous, Mountain Course.
TT 2017 – Friday Practice – Supersport Results:
1 Dean Harrison 124.353
2 Michael Dunlop 123.325
3 Ian Hutchinson 123.191
4 James Hillier 122.93
5 Conor Cummins 122.19
6 Martin Jessopp 122.053
7 Peter Hickman 121.949
8 Lee Johnston 121.858
9 Dan Kneen 121.83
10 Jamie Coward 121.273
11 William Dunlop 121.272
12 Bruce Anstey 121.22
13 Gary Johnson 120.434
14 Ivan Lintin 119.356
15 Andy Dudgeon 119.159
16 Dan Hegarty 119.136
17 Adam McLean 119.062
18 Sam West 118.532
19 Joe Akroyd 118.464
20 Steve Mercer 118.414
21 Michal Dokoupil 118.187
22 Dan Cooper 118.019
23 Guy Martin 117.841
24 Daley Mathison 117.771
25 Horst Saiger 117.69
26 Brian McCormack 117.630
27 Timothee Monot 117.459
28 Dan Stewart 117.085
29 Michael Sweeney 116.83
30 Julian Trummer 116.798
31 Joe Thompson 116.149
32 Adrian Harrison 115.95
33 Jim Hodson 115.723
34 Josh Brookes 115.688
35 Gavin Lupton 115.671
36 Karl Foster 115.504
37 Julien Toniutti 115.494
38 Tom Weeden 115.476
39 Mark Goodings 115.414
40 Davy Morgan 115.324
Superstock:
As predicted prior to TT 2017, it’s BMW’s and Kawasaki’s a plenty, near the sharp end of the practice leaderboard.
Ian Hutchinson made up for the disappointment of an early retirement from Superbike practice, to head the Superstock times this evening, in the process setting the fastest lap speed of TT 2017 thus far, lapping at 129.535 mph.
Showcasing the type of form, which for many makes him the warm favourite for Royal London 360 Quantum Superstock honours, it’s fair to say that Hutchy has laid a marker down.
You can apply the same sentence to Michael Rutter (128.588) and Dean Harrison (128.477) who both showcased their proven credentials aboard stock machinery.
Early pace setter Smiths Racing’s Peter Hickman ultimately finished fourth quickest, just in front of Dan Kneen, who was the only other rider to lap in excess of 127 mph.
The top ten in practice on the time sheets from tonight, was finalised by Lee Johnston, Ivan Lintin, Michael Dunlop having his first run on his own teams GSX-R 1000 Suzuki, Dafabet Devitt Racing’s Steve Mercer and Cookstown BE Racing’s Derek Sheils.
TT 2017 – Friday Practice – Superstock Results:
1 Ian Hutchinson 129.535
2 Michael Rutter 128.588
3 Dean Harrison 128.477
4 Peter Hickman 128.028
5 Dan Kneen 127.232
6 Lee Johnston 126.975
7 Ivan Lintin 125.54
8 Michael Dunlop 125.328
9 Steve Mercer 125.174
10 Derek Sheils 125.097
11 James Cowton 124.454
12 Jamie Coward 123.924
13 Shaun Anderson 123.531
14 Horst Saiger 123.4
15 Martin Jessopp 123.169
16 Brian McCormack 123.117
17 Danny Webb 123.017
18 Alan Bonner 122.526
19 Stefano Bonetti 121.862
20 Phil Crowe 121.608
21 Michael Sweeney 121.429
22 Andy Dudgeon 121.297
23 Dominic Herbertson 121.216
24 Mark Parrett 121.135
25 Ryan Kneen 120.592
26 Joe Akroyd 120.425
27 Kamil Holan 120.354
28 James Hillier 120.318
29 Davy Morgan 120.273
30 Jim Hodson 120.152
31 Dan Cooper 119.976
32 Sam West 119.972
33 Jochem Van Den Hoek 119.686
34 Barry Furber 119.65
35 Rob Hodson 119.608
36 Dave Hewson 119.082
37 Alex Polita 118.996
38 Anthony Redmond 118.797
39 George Spence 118.286
40 Eric Wilson 118.132
Lightweight:
Kawasaki’s dominance within the Lightweight class it seems is reducing, further illustrated by Paton’s Stefano Bonetti surging to the top of the time sheets.
Photo by Nick Wheeler
Lapping at 115.694, the Italian brought back memories tonight, of the times when the legendary Giacomo Agostini would have set the pace aboard his customary MV Agusta mount.
Paton team mate Michael Rutter was sixth fastest, behind the closely matched trio of Peter Hickman (114.855), James Cowton (114.836), Dan Cooper (114.79) and Lee Johnston (114.734).
Added notable lap speeds included newcomer Adam McLean producing another brilliant lap, this time at 112.855, Michael Sweeney (112.737), Cookstown BE Racing’s Derek Sheils (112.645), Maria Costello MBE (111.663), Rob Hodson (111.267) and John Barton (111.258).
TT 2017 – Friday Practice – Lightweight Results:
1 Stefano Bonetti 115.694
2 Peter Hickman 114.855
3 James Cowton 114.836
4 Dan Cooper 114.79
5 Lee Johnston 114.734
6 Michael Rutter 114.282
7 Adam McLean 112.855
8 Michael Sweeney 112.737
9 Derek Sheils 112.645
10 Maria Costello MBE 111.663
11 Rob Hodson 111.267
12 John Barton 111.258
13 Danny Webb 110.622
14 Gary Johnson 110.545
15 Barry Furber 110.473
16 Callum Laidlaw 110.088
17 Anthony Redmond 109.98
18 Mark Purslow 109.403
19 Jamie Hodson 109.015
20 Xavier Denis 109.003
21 Bjorn Gunnarsson 108.23
22 Wayne Axon 107.417
23 Chris Petty 107.285
24 Ian Gardner 107.104
25 Paul Jordan 106.902
26 Craig Neve 106.842
27 Forest Dunn 106.795
28 Rikki McGovern 106.037
29 Dominic Herbertson 105.573
30 Rob Livesey 104.673
31 Lee Hembury 104.608
32 Pete Murray 104.18
33 Dave Madsen Mygdal 102.912
34 Ben Rea 98.630
Words by Stevie Rial