Bruce Anstey setting Classic TT pace on YZR500

Michael Dunlop yet to complete a lap on Team Classic Suzuki

Kiwi Bruce Anstey the man to beat with 125.49mph lap on Padgetts Yamaha YZR 500

Bruce Anstey continued his impressive form during the 2017 Classic TT Races presented by Bennetts with the fastest time of the week on his Padgetts Motorcycles.com YZR 500 Yamaha.

The New Zealander lapped at 125.49 and afterwards revealed how much he was enjoying riding the bike and clearly has something left in the tank.

“Clive Padgett has done a fantastic job over the winter and the bike is the best it’s ever been. I was going really well on the second lap but then slowed a bit when I got to some traffic.”

Ahead of the fourth qualifying session for the 2017 Classic TT Races presented by Bennetts, Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson advised competitors that for the first time this week roads were completely dry all round the course with no damp patches and good visibility all round the course.

First on the track were the Superbikes and Lightweight machines and David Johnson on his Team York Suzuki and Bruce Anstey on the Padgetts Motorcycles.com YZR 500 Yamaha, carrying the number 1 and 2 plates respectively, were the first two away promptly at 6.20pm.

Other riders out on their Superbikes included James Hillier, Gary Johnson, Lee Johnston and Michael Rutter. Michael Dunlop elected to go out on his Turner Racing Yamaha 250 Lightweight machine and was initially reported as a retirement at Quarterbridge but managed to get going again before retiring at Sulby. Other retirements early in the session include Derek Shiels at Ballig Bridge and James Cowton at Parliament Square while Lee Johnston was also a retirement at Kirk Michael.

Anstey topped the board with the fastest two laps to establish himself as clear favourite for Monday’s Motorsport Merchandise Superbike Race, with Michael Dunlop yet to complete a lap on the Team Classic Suzuki but behind the New Zealander the Kawasaki mounted Horst Saiger (123.83) and Dean Harrison 123.74 were stating their case as potential podium finishers.

In the concurrent Lightweight session, with Bruce Anstey preferring to focus on his Superbike machine after the previous evening’s exploits, Dan Sayle on the Steelcote Solutions Yamaha topped the board with an impressive 115.55 ahead of Ian Lougher on the Laylaw Racing Yamaha (115.22) with Michael Rutter (114.57) also to the fore.

Setting off from the bottom of pit lane, the second session for Senior and Junior machines got away at 7.15pm and Josh Brookes and Maria Costello – both riding Patons – for Team Winfield and Team Beugger Racing respectively – were first away but Costello was reported to be off near Braddan shortly after the start but was unhurt.

Brookes powered to a 107.781, slower than his 109 lap the previous evening as he returned to the pits early to check on the Paton.

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Jamie Coward signalled his potential for race honours in Saturday’s Bennetts Senior Classic TT with a remarkable lap of 108.669 on the single cylinder Manx Norton to top the board for the session with William Dunlop on the Davies Motorsport Honda (105.935) completing the top three.

In the concurrent Junior class Michael Rutter, the 2015 race winner who also finished narrow runner up to Michael Dunlop in last year’s race, posted another 100mph+ lap with 102.063 from Phil McGurk (99.684) on the Chris Hughes Honda and Cameron Donald (97.470) on the McIntosh Racing Norton

However, with conditions deteriorating around the Mountain Course, notably with a lack of visibility reported between the Bungalow and Kates Cottage, Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson elected to end the session early at 7.40pm, which meant that there was only time for a single lap for all of the competitors in the Senior and Junior classes.

Chris Barrett was reported to have come off at the Gooseneck in the Lightweight session and was taken by airmed to Nobles Hospital with a leg injury.

Friday’s final full qualifying session is scheduled to get underway at 1820 with the Senior and Junior machines out first before the Lightweight and Superbikes at 1915.

Superbike Classic TT Thursday Qualifying

1. Bruce Anstey Yamaha/Padgetts Motorcycles.com 2 18:02.413 125.486
2. Horst Saiger Kawasaki/Greenall Racing 3 18:16.906 123.828
3. Dean Harrison Kawasaki/Silicone Engineering 2 18:17.695 123.739
4. David Johnson Suzuki/Team York Suzuki 1 18:28.000 122.588
5. Gary Johnson Formula Classic/Team York Suzuki 1 18:28.287 122.557
6. Dan Kneen Kawasaki/Mistral Racing 3 18:28.672 122.514
7. Derek Sheils Kawasaki/Greenall Racing 1 18:36.310 121.676
8. Ivan Lintin Kawasaki/Kraus Racing 1 18:39.157 121.366
9. Danny Webb Suzuki/Team Classic Suzuki 1 18:46.541 120.571
10. Joshua Brookes Norton/Advanced Performance Coatings, Isle of Wight 1 18:47.130 120.508
11. James Hillier Ducati/Oxford Products / Louigi Moto 1 18:48.250 120.388
12. Conor Cummins Yamaha/padgettsmotorcycles.com 1 18:54.285 119.748
13. William Dunlop Kawasaki/HERHEIM RACING 1 18:57.107 119.451
14. Michael Rutter Ducati/Red Fox Grinta Racing 1 19:06.997 118.421
15. Daniel Hegarty Suzuki/ 2 19:13.902 117.712

Senior Classic TT Thursday Qualifying

1. Jamie Coward Norton/Ted Woof / Craven Manx Norton 1 20:49.928 108.669
2. Joshua Brookes Paton/Team Winfield 1 21:00.217 107.781
3. William Dunlop Honda/Davies Motorsport 1 21:22.182 105.935
4. Alan Oversby Honda/Davies Motorsport 1 21:26.702 105.563
5. Bill Swallow Moto Paton/Gleve Racing / John Poyner 1 21:44.605 104.114
6. Oliver Linsdell Linsdell Enfield/Flitwick Motorcycles / Stephen Bond 1 22:09.811 102.141
7. James Hillier Honda/CSC Racing 1 22:15.092 101.737
8. Ian Lougher MV Agusta/John Chapman Racing 1 22:15.862 101.678
9. Mark Parrett Norton/Chas Mortimer Ltd 1 22:44.692 99.530
10. Kiaran Hankin Honda/Khhire 1 23:02.870 98.222
11. David Madsen-Mygdal Honda/Team Gimbert Racing 1 23:14.282 97.418
12. Bruno Leroy Vincent/Patrick Godet 1 23:24.396 96.716
13. Dave Matravers Paton/Round Oak Services Ltd 1 23:38.917 95.727
14. Horst Saiger Egli Motorradtechnik AG/Egli Motorradtechnik AG 1 23:47.882 95.126
15. Michael Russell Norton/Izzard Racing 1 23:48.032 95.116
16. Michael Dunlop MV Agusta/Black Eagle Racing 1 24:27.161 92.57
17. John Leigh Pemberton Norton/Works Racing Motorcycles 1 24:27.562 92.554
18. Dave Moffitt Seeley Matchless/JHS Racing 1 24:35.656 92.046
19. Arthur Browning Seeley/Wobbly Bob Racing/Atherstone Accident Repairs 1 24:38.896 91.844
20. Lee Jennings Dunnel/RGB Racing 1 24:48.181 91.271

Lightweight Classic TT Thursday Qualifying

1. Daniel Sayle Yamaha/Steelcote Solutions Ltd. 2 19:35.500 115.549
2. Ian Lougher Yamaha/Laylaw Racing 2 19:38.827 115.223
3. Michael Rutter Ducati/Red Fox Grinta Racing 1 19:45.535 114.571
4. Chris Moore Yamaha/Dafabet-Devitt Racing / JL Exhausts Racing 2 19:58.396 113.341
5. Ivan Lintin Honda/John Chapman Racing 1 20:01.615 113.038
6. Gary Vines Yamaha/Online Lubricants 1 20:20.674 111.273
7. Phil Harvey Honda/CSC Racing 1 20:24.417 110.933
8. Dan Stewart Yamaha/Wilcock Consulting 2 20:26.466 110.747
9. Paul Owen Honda/Team #98 1 20:34.908 109.990
10. Davy Morgan Honda/Strangford Holiday Park 1 20:42.930 109.280
11. Daniel Hegarty Yamaha/Binch Projects/RTR Motorcycles 1 20:44.883 109.109
12. Rikki McGovern Honda/ 2 20:55.488 108.187
13. Alex Sinclair Ducati/Fox Classic Racing / Louigi Moto Ducati 1 21:05.209 107.356
14. Carsten Svendsen Yamaha/Skulptur Stoberiet 2 21:14.202 106.598
15. Stuart Hall Yamaha/Martyn Nelson 2 21:15.844 106.461

Junior Classic TT Thursday Qualifying

1. Michael Rutter Honda/Ripley Land Racing 1 22:10.821 102.063
2. Philip McGurk Honda/Chris Hughes 1 22:42.592 99.684
3. Cameron Donald Summerfield Manx Norton/McIntosh Racing, New Zealand / Mr Peter Blo 1 23:13.537 97.470
4. Jason Markham Honda/British Army Motorsports Association 1 23:18.801 97.103
5. Peter Boast Honda/Ken Rutter Racing 1 23:21.163 96.939
6. Chris Swallow AJS/Ripley Land Racing 1 23:22.705 96.833
7. Dean Harrison MV Agusta/Black Eagle Racing 1 23:36.014 95.923
8. Steve Ferguson Honda/Greenall Racing / Rock Oil 1 23:51.556 94.881
9. Bob Owen Aermacchi/Mike Faucett 1 24:05.665 93.955
10. Lancelot Unissart Honda/Bob Light Motorsport Ltd 1 24:26.111 92.645

New Sundown Cinema to screen iconic motorcycle films at Classic TT Races presented by Bennetts

Four iconic Motorcycle themed films will be screened in a new free to attend outdoor cinema at the 2017 Classic TT presented by Bennetts.

The ‘Sundown Cinema’ – featuring a stage mounted twenty-foot screen – will be situated at the heart of the Classic TT paddock behind the TT grandstand on Glencrutchery road.

The four day programme will kick off at 8.30pm on Friday 25th August with the cinematic smash ‘TT3D Closer to the Edge’ featuring Guy Martin and a host of other TT stars as they compete in the 2010 TT race meeting. The film became one of the highest grossing documentaries of all time and took motorcycle racing into the mainstream media.

Saturday’s big screen offering is ‘the World’s Fastest Indian’. Starring Anthony Hopkins, it tells the story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years rebuilding a 1920 Indian motorcycle, which helped him set the land speed world record at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967, recording nearly 184 mph in the under 1000cc class.

Appropriately on Sunday, the Sundown Cinema will be showing ‘On Any Sunday’ – the definitive Motorcycle racing documentary that follows the lives of racers and racing enthusiasts, including actor Steve McQueen. This film looks at the people who devote, and sometimes risk, their lives to racing on tracks and off-road courses around the world.

‘Road’, the critically acclaimed 2014 documentary featuring the Dunlop road-racing dynasty, is Bank Holiday Monday’s movie choice. The film intersperses historic footage of road racing legends Joey and Robert with features on modern brothers William and Michael as they compete in the Irish races and on the Isle of Man.