- Bonetti puts Paton on top of the Lightweight board and Harrison pips Dunlop in Supersport qualifier while ‘Moly’ continues to dominate sidecar qualifying

Conditions were finally perfect for qualifying at the 2017 Isle of Man TT Races, fuelled by Monster Energy, and Ian Hutchinson and Bruce Anstey set the pace with both averaging laps of over 129mph.

Hutchinson’s lap of 129.535mph came on his Superstock BMW after stopping at Governor’s Bridge on his opening lap on the Superbike with Anstey posting a time of 129.212mph on the RC213-VS padgettsmotorcycles.com Honda.

Hutchinson was first to leave the line at 6.23pm alongside Peter Hickman on the Smiths Racing Superstock BMW.  Gary Johnson and James Hillier, Steve Mercer and Lee Johnston and Dan Kneen and Michael Dunlop quickly followed the opening pair down Glencrutchery Road.

Kneen was reported to have stopped at Quarter Bridge but he was soon back out on his Superstock mount while the Norton pairing of David Johnson and Josh Brookes were out of luck, retiring at the Bottom of Barregarrow and Ballaugh respectively.

Hickman was first to complete a lap with 128.028mph but Hutchinson had stopped at Governor’s. Johnson and Hillier had no such problems, and both were above the 127mph mark. Dunlop was quickest on the lap though with an opening lap of 128.576mph with Hillier, Conor Cummins, Michael Rutter, Dean Harrison and Bruce Anstey also over 127mph.

On the second lap Hickman was slightly slower at 127.63mph but Anstey had upped the pace considerably to 129.212mph, which made him the evening’s quickest Superbike. Mercer and Rutter were over 125mph but further back on the road, Hutchinson was getting back in the groove and sure enough a lap of 129.535mph not only made him the fastest Superstock machine but also the fastest on the night.

Kneen’s good week in the Superstock class continued with a lap of 127.23mph but this was upstaged on the third lap by Rutter and Harrison who lapped at 128.588mph and 128.477mph respectively to go second and third in the Superstock class behind Hutchinson.

Meanwhile, the newcomers were also making good progress with Adam McLean putting in a superb lap at 119.06mph. Paul Jordan jumped up to 114.88mph with Joey Thompson on 112.91mph.

Just after 7.10pm, the 1000cc machines were short lapped and the course became the sole domain of the Supersport and Lightweight machines.  Hutchinson set the initial pace on the McAMS Yamaha at 123.19mph but this was bettered by Harrison on the Silicone Engineering Kawasaki with a speed of 123.323mph.

However, towards the end of the session, Michael Dunlop just edged out Harrison with a speed of 123.325mph but the Bradford rider wasn’t to be outdone and a 124.35mph lap sent him to the top of the leaderboard. Hillier slotted into fourth at 122.93 with Hickman, Cummins, Jamie Coward, William Dunlop, Anstey and Kneen also above 121mph.

In the Lightweight class, Italian Stefano Bonetti set the fastest lap of the week to date with a speed of 115.69mph on the Paton with Rutter, also on a Paton, on 114.28mph. Hickman on the KMR/IEG Kawasaki, was second with a lap of 114.86mph from Dan Cooper (114.79) and Lee Johnston (114.73).

Steve Mercer was reported to have had an accident at the 11th milestone and was taken by airmed to Nobles with what were initially described as minor injuries while Frank Gallagher suffered broken teeth at the Gooseneck and was taken back to the paddock in a course car.

After a short delay due to the incidents in the solo’s session, the Formula Two Sidecars were back out on the Mountain Course at 8.10pm with Ben and Tom Birchall leading the field away only to retire at Crosby.

That gave Dave Molyneux/Dan Sayle a clear road and their opening lap of 113.001mph was just over 1mph quicker than Tim Reeves/Mark Wilkes on 111.999mph. Karl Bennett/Maxime Vasseur (109.51), Alan Founds/Jake Lowther (109.04), Lewis Blackstock/Patrick Rosney (107.95) and Estelle Leblond/Melanie Farnier (106.59).

Second time around and the leading duo both upped their pace but Molyneux/Sayle held onto the top spot with the fastest lap of the week at 114.74mph. Reeves/Wilkes weren’t too far behind though and improved to 114.35mph, the fastest ever lap by a newcomer passenger albeit unofficially.  John Holden/Lee Cain got a clear run on their second lap with a speed of 112.085mph putting them third quickest.

Some of the TT Zero machines opted for an early look at the track at the end of the evening and the Mugen pair of Anstey (109.520) and Martin (108.413) were predictably quickest although there was a notable performance by Adam Child in completing the first production electric bike lap (74.786) on the Energica machine.
Following the loss of earlier sessions during the week, tomorrow’s schedule is now a full dedicated day of qualifying with the RST Superbike now scheduled for Sunday 4th June, the first race of TT 2017:

FULL SCHEDULE SATURDAY 3RD JUNE 2017
09.15                          Road closed Barrule Park, Ramsey to Bungalow
09.30                          Road closed Bungalow to Creg Ny Baa
10.00                          Roads closed rest of the course
10.40 – 12.00            Superbike/Superstock/Supersport/Newcomers (all Classes except Lightweight) Qualifying
12.05 – 13.05                        Sidecar Qualifying
14.10 – 15.30                        Supersport/Lightweight/Newcomers (all classes) Qualifying
15.40 – 16.30                        Sidecar Qualifying
16.35                          Superbike/Superstock/Supersport Qualifying (1 lap)
17.00                          TT Zero Qualifying (1 lap)
17.40                          Roads scheduled to be open except mountain section
18.40                          Roads scheduled to be open around the course

Isle of Man TT - Cheese on the Menu... Ace Cafe London teams up with the Isle of Man!

Located for TT fortnight from 27th May to 9th June at the heart of the 2017 IoM TT action, by the Grandstand on the Glencrutchery Road start/finish line,  the Ace Cafe London stand and display includes, from noon on both the 5th and 7th June, hosting cheese tastings with the Isle of Man Creamery.

In the race for taste, Ace Cafe London use Isle of Man Grated Mature Cheddar Cheese supplied by the Isle of Man Creamery, a co-operative of family owned dairy farms and a community at the very heart of the Isle of Man, and whose farm-assured herds supply the purest of milk – farm fresh.

Producing milk and making cheese for centuries, with stories that go back to the time of the Vikings, the Isle of Man Creamery today only uses locally sourced milk to make its award winning range of cheeses.

The Isle of Man Mature Cheddar is a firm bodied, distinctly creamy and full-flavoured cheese with a smooth close texture, matured for at least 10 to 12 months, graded by the Creamery’s experienced cheese graders, it is the cheese of choice at the Ace.

See you racing and tasting, on the island.

www.iomtt.com
www.ace-cafe-london.com/Menu.aspx
www.isleofmancreamery.com
www.britishcheese.com

For more information about Ace Cafe or what’s on, check out:
www.ace-cafe-london.com

What happens when a biker, (Sii Hargreaves) has a bit too much time to drink? Sorry, I meant think?

Well he gets a Ted (dressed in smart blazer, complete with beret and medal) to see how far he can get him round the country with a bunch of over 50’s biker’s, lads and ladies! 

Whilst showing Ted (Edward Grunt for his full title), the sights round this great country of ours, (including bars, cafes and bikers meeting places), they will be raising money for The Poppy appeal. Relaying Ted from Aberdeen in sunny Scotland down the length of Britain, across down into Cornwall and back up to Stoke-On-Trent, in time for Remembrance Day.

Money is being raised by the Lads and Ladies on route, but the easiest way for people to donate is through gofundme.com/poppy-appeal-teds-adventures

The second qualifying session for the 2017 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy took place on Wednesday evening although weather conditions meant it was a truncated session with riders completing just one full lap.

The original intention by Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson, anticipating the deteriorating conditions, was to run additional laps at full speed to Ramsey Hairpin before red flagging the riders and escorting them over the Mountain but low mist even curtailed that attempt to establish qualifying laps and give the riders time on the track.

In the limited session that was available Ian Hutchinson and Michael Dunlop again set the pace with the Tyco BMW of Hutchinson edging out the Bennetts Suzuki of Dunlop, 128.98mph to 127.23mph.

The session got underway on time at 6.20pm with the riders briefed that they may be stopped at Ramsey but on the first lap, it was clear enough to at least get a full lap in and Hutchinson, first away from the line with Steve Mercer, put down the marker with his 128mph lap to top the evening’s and overall leaderboard, such as it is to date.

Mercer lapped at 123.98mph quickly followed over the line by Dunlop who time was second quickest. Michael Rutter and Martin Jessopp set almost identical lap times at 123.96 and 123.94 respectively, having set off together whilst James Hillier was slightly quicker at 124.52mph.

Bruce Anstey completed his first lap of the week on the Honda RC211V, lapping at 124.14mph, with Conor Cummins and Gary Johnson also above the 124mph mark. However, the third quickest lap of the night came from Dan Kneen on his DTR powered by Penz 13 BMW, who posted a speed of 125.19, which saw him again top the Superstock class as he had the previous evening.

The Norton Racing Australian duo of David Johnson and Josh Brookes were picking up the pace, lapping at 123.61mph and 122.58mph respectively while Guy Martin was also quicker than the previous night with a lap of 121.42mph.
Lee Johnston was the quickest 600 on the padgettsmotorcycles.com bike, with a speed of 122.16mph but conditions were already deteriorating with fog descending on the Mountain and visibility significantly reduced.

The riders were short lapped at the start and finish but went out again with all the front runners going at full pace to Ramsey.   Unfortunately, the cloud cover wasn’t just descending on the Mountain and was now coming down on the bottom part of the circuit and it was reported that, with no airmed cover possible anywhere around the 37.73-miles course, the session was ended at 7.15pm.

Dave Sellers was reported to be off at the Gooseneck and though reported as up and okay he was later transferred to Nobles hospital with a reported rib injury.

Tomorrow’s schedule is:

18.20 to 19.10                       Superbike/ Superstock/ Supersport/ Newcomers (all classes ex Lightweight)
19.10 to 19.35                       Supersport/ Lightweight/ Newcomers (all Classes)
19.40 to 20.40                       Sidecars
20.40 to 20.50                       TT Zero 1 lap practice

ESPARGARÓ AND LOWES CONFIDENT THAT THEY CAN DEMONSTRATE THE PROGRESS SHOWN IN THE FIRST RACES

The first Italian MotoGP round is an event not to be missed for Italian fans. Aprilia, playing on their home turf, intends to confirm the positive trend shown in the first part of the season with a good result. An important result seems to be within a shout, given the clear progress that the RS-GP machines demonstrated in the first races compared with last year, the Italian V4's début year in the premier category. The sixth place finish in Qatar, the ninth place in Jerez, but especially the race pace shown on several occasions are an excellent start for the Tuscan race.

Aleix Espargaró will take on Mugello with renewed ambitions after just missing a great result in the last race at Le Mans. Prepared by two days of testing in Barcelona, the Italian GP is the perfect chance for the Spanish rider to make it to the positions that count.

For Sam Lowes, the Italian weekend began earlier than usual, with a spectacular procession astride his RS-GP along the charming streets of the historic centre in Florence. The event this morning was certainly a unique change to hear the sound of the Aprilia V4 off the track, even rumbling through the streets and by the monuments that have written the pages of our civilization. The Aprilia Racing Team Gresini rookie, after taking his first championship points in France, has set his sights on a top 10 position in the standings. This is a difficult challenge, but he is encouraged by the excellent job he had done so far together with the team, as well as by his positive sensations in recent rounds.

ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"After the recent tests in Barcelona, I am even more motivated here at Mugello. It is definitely a very special race for us. Aprilia is playing on home turf and I really want to get back to earning important points. We have shown that we are at a good level, especially in the race. Now we need to confirm the hard work we have done on the track in this first part of the season."

SAM LOWES
"I can't wait to race at Mugello. I have had a lot of good results on this track and I have always managed to be fast. The feelings are positive. I feel like the team and I are working in the right direction and we are ready for another step forward. Especially in Aprilia's home round."

ROMANO ALBESIANO - APRILIA RACING MANAGER
“Mugello is our home race and it is a circuit that both of our riders really like. The recent tests have helped us to further understand the way the bike works with different settings, both electronics and chassis architecture. Compared with last year, we have taken huge steps forward in terms of handling and this is progress that should let us be more competitive this weekend. I hope to be able to celebrate a good result on Sunday and maybe have a pinch more luck than in recent races.”

FAUSTO GRESINI - TEAM MANAGER
"Mugello is our first home race and Italian teams are always quite motivated here. There are high expectations to do well and we really want to bring home a good result. We are working well and we have already demonstrated that we have the potential to aim for important goals. Aleix is positive and full of energy. Same is improving his approach race after race and the team is working to give them full support. Now all that's left is to wait for the response on the track."