The 2014 Southern 100 meeting will live long in the memory; the racing was absolutely fantastic. There were private battles being fought throughout the field; giving the record breaking crowds some tight finishes and several new lap records to savour. The pre-meeting favourites did not have the best of fortune; niggling machine problems meaning that their expected wins did not accrue. The Man of the Meeting was undoubtedly Dean Harrison who won five races; set a new absolute lap record and took two second places to boot. This very personable and gifted young man showed just how good he is; whilst Guy Martin showed that class is permanent as he retained the main the prize; the Solo Championship. The Sidecar Championship went to this year’s first time TT winner Conrad Harrison.

Tuesday evening was warm and sunny as the first race of the meeting began on the testing 4.25 miles Billown Circuit in Castletown, the ancient capital of the Isle of Man. The only problem facing riders was the low sun on the long start / finish straight. The most notable absentees were William Dunlop, who decided to sit this meeting out despite winning at Skerries at the weekend and Jamie Hamilton who had an off at Skerries.

Fastest away from the lights was Guy Martin on the Tyco Suzuki. He held the lead at the commentary point at Cross Four Ways; chased closely by Dean Harrison on the RC Express Kawasaki. Harrison gained great drive out of Church Bends and passed Martin on the run through Great Meadow. At Castletown Corner; a tight 90 degree right hander with adverse camber he led by 20m from Martin. Next through was a group containing Russ Mountford, Dan Kneen, Michael Dunlop, who had been 7th at Cross Four Ways and Ivan Lintin. Seamus Elliott held 7th just ahead of James Cowton and Ryan Kneen. Conor Cummins was the first of the 600cc machines; he nipped inside Davy Morgan to take 10th overall.

At the front Harrison began to increase his advantage; he led by 2.8s as he powered away along the Castletown by-pass for the second time. Martin in turn was 2.7s in front of Dunlop who had pulled clear of the great scrap on the roads between Kneen, Mountford and Lintin who may well have swapped some paint during the race. Could Dunlop now open the taps on the Hawk BMW and hunt down the two leaders? On the third lap the lead for Harrison was 3.4s; with Dunlop 2.1s down on Martin. Mountford and Kneen had pulled a few metres away from Lintin in the scrap for 4th place. Cummins had a comfortable lead in the 600cc class from impressive newcomer Malachi Mitchell-Thomas.

Harrison was untroubled at the front whilst Dunlop continued to hunt down Martin; edging ever closer as the race progressed. Despite the BMW not yet being ideally set up for Billown, Dunlop set the fastest lap of the race on lap 5 at 113.157mph; Harrison also managed to break the 113mph barrier. Going into the final lap Harrison led by 4.9s; Martin’s advantage over Dunlop was just 0.75s. Kneen had pulled clear of Mountford and Lintin who were continuing their well fought private battle.

Dean duly took a commanding victory; behind him it was Guy who prevailed by just 0.4s from the Michael. This race whet the appetite for Wednesday’s 1000cc race and the Championship Race on Thursday. Kneen took 4th, to continue his run of excellent results; Mountford took 5th, just 0.33s ahead of Lintin. Cummins took the 600cc class win in 10th place overall in a class race record. His best lap of 108.201mph was the fastest ever by a 600cc machine in this race; but some way below Guy Martin’s amazing lap record of 110.306mph.

Corlett’s Trophies 600c/1000cc Race
1. Dean Harrison 1000 Kawasaki 111.537mph
2. Guy Martin 1000 Suzuki 110.916mph
3. Michael Dunlop 1000 BMW 110.870mph
4. Dan Kneen 1000 Suzuki 108.643mph
5. Russ Mountford 1000 Honda 108.259mph
6. Ivan Lintin 1000 Honda 108.223mph

600cc Class
1. Conor Cummins Honda 105.805mph
2. Malachi Mitchell-Thomas Kawasaki 100.848mph
3. Roy Richardson Honda 99.675mph

The final race of the evening was the 125cc/400cc Race. Late entrant Alistair Haworth was quickest out of the blocks and led the field at Cross Four Ways. As he crossed the railway bridge at Castletown Corner on the first lap he was away and clear; he led the race by 4.6s. Behind him it was clear that Dave would finish second; but not which one. Locals Dave Corlett and Dave Taylor were side by side as they rounded the tight bend. Their battle was to rage for the entire race distance; the positions changed several times on each lap and they provided great entertainment for the huge crowds gathered all around the circuit. Paul Robinson was the leading 125cc rider in 4th. Behind him Tony Limer; Adrian Kershaw and Lancelot Unissart; were also engaging a very close battle for position. They too swapped positions and possibly some paint, with great regularity; giving some compulsive viewing for the spectators.

Going into the final lap Haworth led by 14.9s from Taylor; who had Corlett just 1m astern of him. Robinson was secure in 4th; but behind him a pocket handkerchief would have covered Kershaw, Limer and Unissart. Haworth rounded Castletown Corner to receive a good round of applause. Corlett and Taylor left the braking late as they dived into the corner; both missed the apex but it was Taylor who managed to get the power down first and he took second by 0.99s after a compelling battle. Next into view were newcomers Kershaw and Unissart; their braking was even later; they just managed to avoid going down Malew Street. Kershaw was able to turn the quicker and he duly took 5th by 1.3s. Limer eventually came through with a smoking engine; 16th place being scant reward for his great ride.

Station Garage 125cc/40cc Race
1. Alistair Haworth 400 Yamaha 93.103mph
2. Dave Taylor 400 Yamaha 91.568mph
3. Dave Corlett 399 Kawasaki 91.477mph
4. Paul Robinson 125cc Aprilia 90.238mph
5. Adrian Kershaw 400 Kawasaki 89.499mph
6. Lancelot Unissart 400 Honda 89.383mph

Wednesday evening brought perfect conditions for the four scheduled races and what drama they provided. The first race was the eagerly awaited Senior Race for 1000cc machines. Dan Kneen was
quickest out of the traps and was the first rider to round Ballabeg Hairpin; skirt the bales on the exit and power away along Duck Street to Ballawhetstone. Then it was Dean Harrison; closely followed by Russ Mountford and Michael Dunlop. Then came the rest of the field in a continuous stream; it was amazing that none touched each other. Guy Martin had mechanical problems that forced him to return to the paddock at the end of the lap. He did venture out again mid-race for one rapid practice lap.

On lap 2 Harrison had managed to edge past Kneen and led by a couple of metres. They were 4.25s ahead of a clearly trying Michael Dunlop; he brushed the bales as he powered away from the corner. Ivan Lintin had moved up to 4th. The pace was fast and furious as the third lap unfolded; Harrison was near to lap record pace and had opened a gap of 1s over Kneen, who was now 2.6s ahead of Dunlop. Lintin, James Cowton and Mountford completed the leader board. On the 4th lap Harrison broke the lap record that he set last year; raising it to 113.473mph. Both Kneen and Dunlop broke the 113mph barrier on this lap. At Ballabeg, Harrison led by 1.7s; with Kneen 2.8s ahead of Dunlop. These three had pulled well clear of the pursuing pack.

Harrison swept through impressively on lap 5; his lead out to 3.2s over Keen whose own advantage was being slowly eroded by Dunlop. Lintin was lapping at over 110mph and pulling away from the private battle between Cowton and Mountford for 5th.

Harrison continued to edge away from Kneen whilst Dunlop closed him down. On lap 6 Andrew Sellars lost the front end coming into Ballabeg; nearly taking Neil Watson down with him; fortunately only pride was injured. On the final lap Harrison led by 5.25s from Kneen who had Dunlop a mere 5m behind him. Harrison crossed the line to take his second win; raising the race record to 112.145mph in the process. Kneen just managed to fend off the attentions of Dunlop; taking second place by just 0.05s. Lintin was 4th, Mountford passed Cowton in the latter stages to take 5th; Cowton perhaps had been unsettled by an earlier big moment at Ballabeg.

Ellan Vannin Fuels Senior Race
1. Dean Harrison R C Express Kawasaki 112.145mph
2. Dan Kneen B E Racing Suzuki 111.419mph
3. Michael Dunlop BMW 111.413mph
4. Ivan Lintin Taylor Lindsey Honda 109.273mph
5. Russ Mountford Silicone Engineering Honda 107.898mph
6. James Cowton S J P Honda 107.733mph

The second race of the evening was the 250cc/650cc Race. Ivan Lintin was fastest from the lights and led at Ballabeg; but to no avail the race was red flagged due a coming together at Ballakeighan; that four riders on the floor. No one was injured but the riders involved could not make the re-start. It was déjà vu when the lights changed; Ivan Lintin was away like a scalded cat and led from James Cowton at Ballabeg; with Dean Harrison and his brother Adrian in hot pursuit. Dean Osborne and John Barton completed the top six. Lintin’s Tigcraft machine was rapid and he began to pull away from his challengers; he led by 1.75s at Ballabeg on lap 2 from Cowton who had Harrison right behind him. These three were well clear of the chasing pack; in which good close battles were developing to keep the spectators’ attention. Lintin pulled the pin on lap 3; setting a new lap record of 103.458mph.

On lap 4 Lintin’s lead was up to 6.5s from Harrison who had managed to find a way past Cowton on the start / finish straight. Adrian Harrison remained safe in 4th, with Dean Osborne in 5th and under challenge from Davy Morgan. The lead was 8.2s as they rounded the hairpin for the final time;Cowton have forced his way past Harrison once again. Lintin duly took his first victory at Billown setting a new race record in the process. Cowton fell prey to the better acceleration of Harrison’s machine losing out on second by just 0.074s. Adrian Harrison, Davy Morgan and Dean Osborne completed the leader board. The first 250cc rider home was Tom Snow in 8th; the end seems to be in sight for the two strokes.

Mike Kerruish Plumbing 250cc/650cc Race
1. Ivan Lintin 650 Tigcraft 102.239mph
2. Dean Harrison 650 Kawasaki 101.001mph
3. James Cowton 650 Kawasaki 100.986mph
4. Adrian Harrison 650 Kawasaki 97.268mph
5. Davy Morgan 650 CMS Kawasaki 96.302mph
6. Dean Osborne 650 Kawasaki 96.162mph

The next race was scheduled to be the 600cc race. Just seconds after the lights changed and the riders blasted away from the line the red flag came out again. Another accident involving four riders was the cause. The riders down were Senior TT runner-up Conor Cummins, Ivan Lintin, James Cowton and Tom Parker. The unfortunate Cummins and Parkes were taken to hospital by helicopter. Parkes was released the next morning; but Cummins had to have surgery on a broken radius. Just when this talented rider was back to his very best ill fortune has struck him yet again. Hopefully Conor will be fit and well in time for the Ulster GP, an event that he loves to compete in. Cowton and Lintin were taken to the paddock; but Lintin later went to hospital for a check up on his sore ribs. Due to the pain from his injury he was unable to take any further part in the meeting.

Nimble footwork from the organizers saw the Sidecar race brought to the line. Those, including me, who expected Dave Molyneux to win, were to find that some had not read the script. John Holden and Andy Winkle had their Honda at the sharp end as the field powered towards us for the first time. They were closely followed by Ian and Carl Bell; with Dave Molyneux and Benjamin Binns in third. Gary Bryan; Dean Lindley and Conrad Harrison completed the early leader board. Holden led by 20m on lap 2, with Molyneux equidistant behind Bell. Just when it seemed that the pattern was set; Holden ran into the ECU problem that dogged him in the TT and he was forced to pull out of the race at Ballabeg on lap 3; leaving Bell and Molyneux to fight for the winner’s laurels. Bell’s lead was 0.8s as they left to tackle the fearsome back stretch of the course. Holden’s demise promoted Wayne Lockey up to 6th place.

Bell upped his pace on lap 4 setting his best lap of the race at 98.483mph; he was 1.95s ahead at Ballabeg. On lap 5 Bell led by 2.3s; but Molyneux had not yet conceded victory and set about closing the gap on the tricky run through to Cross Four Ways. Behind him matters were tightening, Bryan’s machine had slowed, allowing Lindley, Harrison and Lockey to form in line stern of him. Bryan’s machine finally expired on the sixth and final lap. Molyneux was flying and set the fastest lap of the race at 99.062mph on the final lap to be just 0.69s down at the finish. With Bell’s machine faster in a straight line Molyneux would have had difficulty making a pass. In common with Holden he has not yet sorted his ECU problems out completely. Harrison passed Lindley on the final lap; allowing passenger Jason to retain his 100 podium finish record; whilst the Beare brothers did the same to Greg Lambert to nick 6th on their debut.

Ace Hire and Sales Sidecar Race
1. Ian Bell / Carl Bell LCR Yamaha 97.237mph
2. Dave Molyneux / Benjamin Binns DMR Kawasaki 97.164mph
3. Conrad Harrison / Jason Crowe Shelbourne Honda 94.611mph
4. Dean Lindley / Dean Kilkenny LCR Suzuki 94.583mph
5. Wayne Lockey / Mark Sayers Ireson Honda 94.528mph
6. Dwight Beare / Noel Beare LCR Suzuki 92.237mph

The 600cc was the final race of the evening’s programme and what a good race it proved to be despite three of the likely contenders being sidelined by the earlier incident and Michael Dunlop pulling out on the start line. This time the field negotiated Ballakeighan successfully with Dan Kneen again the quickest to react to the lights. Kneen led into Ballabeg in the late evening sun; he had Guy Martin and Dean Harrison just 5m behind him. Ryan Kneen, Russ Mountford and Seamus Elliot filled 4th to 6th. As they charged out of Ballanorris and then braked heavily for the hairpin it was the blue Mar-train Yamaha of Dean Harrison that led; with Kneen 10m down in second and in turn 5m ahead of Martin. Russ Mountford on the lone Triumph had moved up into 4th, Ryan Kneen was 5th and Elliott 6th. The pace at the front was hot indeed despite the tricky low sunlight on the bypass. On the third lap Harrison lapped at over 109mph, with Kneen and Martin both going over 108mph.

On lap 4 Harrison led by 3.3s from martin at Ballabeg; Kneen was just 0.15s down on Martin as they swept away towards the testing Ballawhetstone to Billown Dip section. On lap 5 the lead was 2.85s, with Martin now 1s ahead of Kneen. On the penultimate lap the gaps were3.3s and 1.1s; the result seemingly settled, barring some misfortune. Martin put up his best lap on this lap but could not quite lay a glove on Harrison who duly took another fine victory by 3.2s from Martin. Kneen took third 1.4s down on Martin after another tremendous ride for the John Burrows team. Russ Mountford, Ryan Kneen and Seamus Elliott completed the leader board. Newcomer, Malachi Mitchell-Thomas; put up a tremendous performance to take 7th place; setting his best lap of the race at 104.910mph on the last lap.

Radcliffe Butchers 600cc race
1. Dean Harrison Mar-train Yamaha 107.635mph
2. Guy Martin Tyco Suzuki 107.289mph
3. Dan Kneen B E Suzuki 107.014mph
4. Russ Mountford Silicone Eng. Triumph 104.396mph
5. Ryan Kneen DMR Kawasaki 103.552mph
6. Seamus Elliott D & G W Yamaha 103.352mph

Thursday; Championship day; gave us clear blue skies; hot sunshine and no breeze. The record breaking crowds took up every conceivable vantage point to watch the superb racing unfold. The first action was provided by the 600cc B race. This provided some good dices throughout the field. At the head of events newcomer Frank Gallagher and Joe Newbould were never more than a few metres apart and swapped positions many times. The race was resolved when Newbould clipped a kerb on the final lap and lost ground. Behind them Anthony Redmond and Rad Hughes had a similarly close battle. Pole sitter Thomas Gottschalk made a terrible start; but managed to fight his way up to 5th at the end just 0.8s down on Hughes.

600c B Race
1. Frank Gallagher Kawasaki 101.495mph
2. Joe Newbould Kawasaki 101.215mph
3. Antony Redmond Honda 99.108mph

The S & S Motors 600cc provided some stunning action for the huge crowd that filled every conceivable vantage point around the circuit. The race itself proved as hot as the weather with the lap and race records blown into the weeds. First into our view at Church bends was Guy Martin on the Tyco Suzuki; he had Dan Kneen on the B E Suzuki and Dean Harrison on the Mar-train Yamaha in close formation behind him. They were super fast as they swept around the S bend and powered off to Great Meadow. They had opened a gap of 1.8s over the next group of Russ Mountford, James Cowton and Michael Dunlop. They were in turn 2.6s ahead of the next trio of Seamus Elliott, Malachi Mitchell-Thomas and Ryan Kneen.

Martin continued to lead as they peeled into the right hand part of the S bend for the second time; Kneen and Harrison still in line right behind him. It was as you were in the chasing group; Mountford still holding 4th. The pace at the front was already close to William Dunlop’s lap record. On lap 3 Harrison led the freight train into Church; Martin and Kneen within touching distance as they swept through the left hand exit in fine style. Behind them Mountford had opened a small gap on Cowton; who similarly was pulling clear of Dunlop; who was soon to park the errant Honda that simply would not rev properly. His demise promoted the highly impressive Mitchell-Thomas in to 6th. Harrison had opened a 15m gap as he flashed between the churchyard walls on lap 4. Martin had opened a similar gap over Kneen as he tested his knee slider on the left hander; all three were lapping at over 109mph and giving fabulous entertainment to the crowd. Mountford was keeping Cowton at bay; and Mitchell-Thomas continued to hold his narrow advantage over Elliott and Ryan Kneen.

Harrison had opened a gap of 1s on lap 5; he was simply awesome through the tricky bends. Such was his pace that he smashed the lap record raising it to an amazing 110.431mph; whilst Martin put up his best lap at 109.971mph; he now ahead of Kneen by 1.25s. Harrison edged almost imperceptibly away from Martin to lead by 1.6s on the penultimate lap; Kneen had settled for 3rd and was 3.3s behind Martin. Cowton continued to harry Mountford and Mitchell-Thomas was holding off the attentions of Ryan Kneen.

The lead was 2.6s for Harrison as he powered away to take a superb victory. The race record was raised by 0.9mph; Martin was also well inside the old record set by Michael Dunlop in 2011. Kneen took another podium for John Burrows’ team; their partnership working really well. Cowton won his race long battle with Mountford to secure 4th; Mitchell-Thomas lapped at 105.95mph on the final tour to fend off Kneen and take 6th. His is most certainly a name to remember; hopefully he will become a Billown regular.

S & S Motors 600cc Race
1. Dean Harrison Mar-train Yamaha 108.421mph
2. Guy Martin Tyco Suzuki 108.184mph
3. Dan Kneen B E Suzuki 107.723mph
4. James Cowton Honda 106.688mph
5. Russ Mountford Silicone Engineering Triumph 106.471mph
6. Malachi Mitchell-Thomas Silicone Engineering Kawasaki 104.150mph

The third race of the morning was the Sidecar Consolation Race. Local crew Brian Kelly and Jason O’Connor were never headed; they eased away from Horst Walczak and Andrew Miller to win by 13.9s. John Chandler and veteran local passenger Dicky Gale took third.

Sidecar Consolation Race
1. Brian Kelly / Jason O’Connor M R Equipe Yamaha 90.067mph
2. Horst Walczak / Andrew Miller Ireson Honda 88.855mph
3. John Chandler / Dicky Gale Windle Honda 86.200mph

The afternoon’s proceedings began with the Ocean Ford 250cc/650cc race. Ivan Lintin was unable to race due to the painful rib injury sustained the previous evening. The pattern was set right from the off with James Cowton and Dean Harrison setting a hot pace at the front. Cowton led into Cross Four Ways on lap 1; with Harrison just inches off his rear wheel as they snaked under braking and heeled into the sharp right hand bend. They were already 2.3s ahead of Dean’s brother, Adrian. Then it was a cavalry charge as the chasing pack took the bend; Dean Osborne, Davy Morgan and Michael Russell at its head. On lap 2 Cowton lead by 20m from Dean Harrison; with Adrian Harrison 6.6s behind. Cowton’s lead was the same on lap 3; but on lap 4 Harrison was just a tyre’s width behind him once again.

On lap 5 Cowton led by 1m as they backed the bikes into the corner in fine style; both now lapping at over 102mph. Adrian Harrison held a safe third; whilst behind him Morgan held 4th 25m ahead of a good battle between Osborne and Russell. On the final lap shoot out it was Cowton who held the inside line as they came into Cross Four Ways alongside each other. Cowton led on the charge away towards Church. He held his advantage through Great Meadow and into Stadium. He took a tight line into the final corner to prevent Harrison repeating an earlier overtaking move at that point. It was too close to call as they crossed the line side by side. Initially the race was given to Cowton by 0.022s on the electronic timing; however the line judges changed that and gave the race to Harrison by 0.001s; about 2cm at their terminal velocity. A huge disappointment for James; but surely this highly talented young rider will gain his fair share of victories in the future. Adrian Harrison completed the podium places with his best ride to date at Billown. Morgan, newcomer Russell and Osborne filled out the leader board.

Ocean Ford 250cc650cc Race
1. Dean Harrison R C Express Kawasaki 101.148mph
2. James Cowton Stuart Smith Kawasaki 101.148mph
3. Adrian Harrison P R S Kawasaki 97.787mph
4. Davy Morgan C M S Kawasaki 97.328mph
5. Michael Russell Trackelectronics Kawasaki 97.112mph
6. Dean Osborne Bullock Kawasaki 96.776mph

The second race of the afternoon was the Steam Packet Company 125cc/400cc Race. This followed a familiar pattern; Alistair Haworth taking control from the off. He had a clear lead over Dave Corlett on the first lap. Behind them a group headed by Adrian Kershaw and Dave Taylor; still sore from his off at Ballakeighan; were scrapping for third. On lap 2 Haworth led by 4.8s from Corlett; Kershaw and Taylor were another 3.5s further behind. Haworth continued to ease away as the race progressed; eventually he won by 11.4s from Corlett. Taylor won his duel with Kershaw to secure his second podium of the meeting. Tony Limer and Lancelot Unissart completed the top six.

Steam Packet 125cc/400cc Race
1. Alistair Haworth Yamaha 94.253mph
2. Dave Corlett Kawasaki 93.166mph
3. Dave Taylor Yamaha 92.365mph
4. Adrian Kershaw Kawasaki 91.684mph
5. Tony Limer Kawasaki 90.867mph
6. Lancelot Unissart Honda 90.128mph

It was now time for the main event; the Manx Gas Solo Championship and it did not disappoint with a new outright lap record being set and the first two beating last year’s race record. The inside of Cross Four Ways is great for action photos but not for seeing all that is going on. Dan Kneen gained another rapid start and led from Dean Harrison, Guy Martin and Michael Dunlop as the riders tackled the corner for the first time. The packed group behind had James Cowton, Russ Mountford, Ryan Kneen; Seamus Elliott and Davy Morgan to the fore. The noise was amazing with the screaming engines just feet away and echoing off the cottages on either side of the track.

Dan Kneen ruined his chance of glory when he overshot at Ballakeighan on lap 2; dropping 20s and falling to ninth place. On lap 2 Harrison led by a couple of metres from Martin; with Dunlop third 1s down on Martin. Cowton, Kneen, Mountford, Elliott and Morgan followed rapidly behind. Last year Guy Martin’s lap record of 114.245mph was something of a quantum leap and seen as likely to stand for some years; but such was the pace of this race that it was smashed on lap 3. Harrison set the new mark at 114.601mph as he tried to break away from Martin. Guy was not giving up his title easily and he too broke the old record; going around at 114.464mph. Dunlop in third place put in his best lap at 113.864mph; from then on the BMW sounded increasingly off colour; it was most definitely not powering away from the corner as well as the machines of Harrison and Martin.

Martin, like all good champions had seen what the challenger had to offer and then began to throw a few punches of his own. He began to nibble away the advantage that Harrison had built up as they brushed the kerbs and walls around the track in their pursuit of glory. They were 0.6s apart at Cross Four Ways on lap 5, with Dunlop 2.5s down on Martin. Cowton, Mountford and Dan Kneen; who had passed his brother on the run into the corner; completed the leader board. Martin had trimmed the lead to 0.35s on lap 6 and was riding superbly on the big Suzuki as he hunted down the young challenger; taking 0.4s out of the lead over the lap. Dunlop was 7.6s down on Martin and being closed down by Cowton and Dan Kneen; who was now lapping at over 112mph. Harrison still led on lap 7 but Martin was just metres behind him; both using the exact same line through the corner. Kneen had caught and passed Dunlop on the ailing Bavarian four; Cowton was fifth; but under pressure from Mountford. Dunlop gave up trying to nurse the errant BMW to the finish and was left to reflect on a meeting in which little went right for him.

Martin made his first move at Castletown Corner on lap 7; taking the inside line; however Harrison gained better drive and was able to retake the lead on the bypass. Martin made the decisive move on lap 8; taking the lead with an audacious pass going into Iron Gate. He lapped 0.8s faster than his rival, having had the better of it overtaking some of the backmarkers. Martin led by 0.7s as he passed us for the final time. Try as he might, Harrison could not do anything about the flying Martin and Guy crossed the line to rapturous applause; the victor by 0.63s after a truly fantastic race. Dan Kneen secured another podium; Cowton, Mountford and Ryan Kneen completed the leader board. Malachi Mitchell-Thomas was the best of the 600cc riders in 14th place.

Manx Gas Solo Championship
1. Guy Martin Tyco Suzuki 112.893mph
2. Dean Harrison R C Express Kawasaki 112.836mph
3. Dan Kneen B E Suzuki 109.429mph
4. James Cowton S J P Honda 109.200mph
5. Russ Mountford Silicone Engineering Honda 109.009mph
6. Ryan Kneen DMR Kawasaki 107.572mph

The Sidecar Championship was the next race on the card and it had more than its fair share of drama. This began just over 1m from the start when Wednesday’s winners Ian and Carl bell were forced to park their machine. At Cross Four Ways the leaders of the race were Conrad Harrison and Jason Crowe. John Holden / Andy Winkle were second with Wayne Lockey / Mark Sayers third. Dave Molyneux / Benjamin Binns were fourth; their still unresolved ECU problems giving them an intermittent misfire. Greg Lambert / Kenny Cole and Dean Lindley / Dean Kilkenny completed the leader board. On lap 2 Harrison still led from Holden; Lockey and Molyneux; who were just 1m apart.

Holden used the better speed of his machine to pass Harrison and take the lead; he was 1.6s ahead as they passed us for the third time and seemingly on the way to victory. Molyneux made what seemed a perfectly fair pass on Lockey on lap 3; but hyper excitable commentator Roy Moore was squawking about it like a parrot on speed. Greg Lambert became the next contender to retire; he parked his ailing machine alongside the slip road at Cross Four Ways. Holden led by 4.5s on lap 4; whilst Harrison had a 5.2s advantage over Molyneux.

On lap 5 Holden led by 5.9s as he powered away towards Church Bends and Great Meadow. Molyneux was third and had cut 0.5s out of Harrison’s advantage. Lockey, Lindley and Karl Bennett / Lee Cain filled out the leader board. Just when the pattern seemed set, Holden was hit by the ECU problem that forced him out on Wednesday; it was bitter irony that it struck at exactly the same place; Ballabeg Hairpin. This gifted the lead to Harrison; however the race was not over; Molyneux had closed to be just 2.6 down. On lap 7 Molyneux had cut the lead in half; could he yet snatch victory? The answer was no; Harrison got the better of passing a lower order driver at Cross Four Ways on the final lap. This ensured that Molyneux was never close enough to try to pass; something that would have been difficult given that Harrison’s machine had a higher top speed. Harrison duly crossed the line to take his first victory at Billown and with it the title of Southern 100 Champion; what a year it has been for him. Molyneux had the consolation of setting the fastest lap of the race. Darren Hope / Lenny Bumfrey crashed out of the race spectacularly at Maggie’s on the final lap; thankfully both were up and walking about after it.

Manx Gas Sidecar Championship
1. Conrad Harrison / Jason Crowe Shelbourne Honda 96.484mph
2. Dave Molyneux/ Benjamin Binns DMR Kawasaki 96.340mph
3. Wayne Lockey / Mark Sayers Ireson Honda 95.112mph
4. Karl Bennett / Lee Cain DMR Kawasaki 93.868mph
5. Dean Lindley / Dean Kilkenny LCR Suzuki 93.781mph
6. Dwight Beare / Noel Beare LCR Suzuki 93.425mph



Courtesy of Richard Radcliffe