Tyco Suzuki's Conor Cummins reflects on his five podium positions at this year's Southern 100 Road Races aboard the GSX-R1000 and GSX-R600 at his home on the Isle of Man and looks forward to the upcoming Ulster Grand Prix.

After having to frustratingly stand on the sidelines for the whole of this year's Isle of Man TT because of my hand injury, it was great to get back to competitive racing again in July - and no better place than at home here on the Isle of Man at the Southern 100.

The event lived-up to its usual form by being one of the most professionally-organised road races of the season, so all credit to the organisers. The weather was great and the crowds lined the circuit to wave us all on at almost every corner
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Taking five podiums from five starts made me a happy man for the first time this season. I was competitive in all races and did my fastest-ever lap of the track. The Supersport results came as a real surprise to be honest. The little GSX-R600 was faultless all week and I really enjoyed riding it and the big GSX-R1000 Superbike was fantastic to ride yet again. All I need to focus on for the Superbike is my starts as they let me down a bit, but otherwise I'm well-happy with how I rode on both machines.

There were some great dices on track which really got the adrenaline going and made for some great racing all week at 'The Southern.' At times we were three abreast into some corners, so a bit of paint swapping went on, but it was all very safe, which is what I like.

Ultimately it was great competitive track-time on the bikes and it's exactly what I needed. 'Big Arnie' worked hard to give me the best set-up possible and it paid off, so a big thank you to him. Along with Mark and Danny, they all seemed to enjoy themselves, but more importantly for Suzuki and our sponsors, it was great to see the Tyco Suzuki team put on a great show again.

It certainly made up for the disappointment of missing the TT but hopefully I'm not finished yet and a top-step at the Ulster Grand Prix would be a fitting-end to the pure road racing season.

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