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TIMES DOWN AT FOURTH MANX GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING SESSION
AS DAMP CONDITIONS ENSURE CAUTIOUS LAPS

Damp conditions were reported around the course by Clerk of the Course Phil Taubman who warned the riders about lack of adhesion all round the course and the potential for further rain during the fourth session at the 2011 Manx Grand Prix Races.

The modern bikes were first on the course with Grant Wagstaffe and David Lumsden leading the field away at 18.30, shortly after the scheduled start, and it was Grant Wagstaffe who was first back to the Grandstand on his R6 Yamaha with an opening lap of 107.700mph, the quickest first lap. In the SuperTwins newcomer Wayne Hamilton clocked the only 100+mph lap of the evening at 100.117

However it was clear that the competitors had listened to the Clerk of the Course’s advice and times were well down on the previous evening. Later in the session, with reports of the roads drying, a number of riders went quicker on their second lap with Wagstaffe (111.003) and Paul Smyth (109.046) topping the evening’s board with Peter Symes (106.927) the fastest Senior.

The Classic, Classic Superbike, Junior Post Classic, Lightweight and Newcomers B session got away shortly after 19.10 with John Barton first away from pit lane on his ’85 Suzuki GSXR.

Ryan Farquhar had already been out on his Classic Superbike in the earlier session and having stopped at Sulby the previous evening he will have been pleased to post a lap, albeit one of only 91.654mph, which he followed up with a lap of 85.623 on his second. Michael Dunlop came into the Grandstand at the end of the first lap and made adjustments before continuing on the XR69.

Mark Parrett also went out for the first time in the Junior Post Classic Class on an ’83 Armstrong but it was Scotland’s Mark Buckley continuing his fine form by posting the fastest opening lap of the Classic Superbike session with 101.151 before Michael Dunlop topped it with a lap of 102.462 on his first recorded lap and improved his time on the next lap to 104.283 from Mick Godfrey on the 997 Team Alf Kawasaki who clocked 101.430. Paul Coward was the fastest Classic 500cc on the ’71 Nourish Westlake while Chris Palmer was again fastest in the 350cc Classic Class on the 72 Drixon Honda and also later topped the Junior Post Classic times with a lap of 100.580 on his ’91 Yamaha TZB.

Tomorrow’s session sees the Classic, Classic Superbike, Junior Post Classic Lightweight and Newcomers B due to start the session at 18.20 with the Senior, Junior, SuperTwin and Newcomers A scheduled to go out at 19.05 ahead of Saturday’s Newcomers Race.



Picture by Dave Collister

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