Gary Johnson finally broke his Isle of Man TT duck – and then thanked team bosses for their bizarre words of wisdom.

The 30-year-old, from Broughton near Brigg, took yesterday's Monster Energy Supersport TT race by the scruff of the neck from the off and had a 15-second lead over John McGuinness at the halfway stage.

With pre-race favourite Michael Dunlop hit by bike trouble it was left to Aussie Cameron Donald to lead the chase until he was struck down by his own problems and retired.

That allowed the East Coast Racing rider to finish more than eight seconds ahead of McGuinness with Guy Martin, furious at red flags being waved incorrectly, a place back in third.

And Johnson was quick to reveal the team orders that had helped him climb to the top of the podium at long last.

"I was just told to go and get on the bike and ride it like you have stolen the bike from your dad. That's what I did and it worked out perfectly," said Johnson.

"It feels great to be a winner at last and it's a dream come true. Hopefully they come along like London buses now and I can be challenging again in the Senior (today).

"It was my plan not to hang about on the first lap and that worked out well and then when I saw the pit boards and the lead I had I was really pleased.

"When I saw that Cameron Donald was catching me a bit towards the end of the race I hammered it for a little while to make sure and thankfully it worked out.

"We have had a few problems with the bike during the week but we got them sorted and it's really nice to have put it where it needs to be."

Johnson wasted no time in turning his attention to the showpiece event of the week, today's PokerStars Senior TT race.

It would take a fool to write off Johnson's chances after a week where he now has first, third and fourth-place finishes to his name.

He added: "It's nice to have a win in the 600 on the smaller bike and get my first but hopefully I can work towards getting one on the big bike now.

"I was a bit moody with myself after the Superbike race earlier in the week so it's nice to have got the win and hopefully I can do it again in the Senior now.

"I really went for it in the Supersport and that's what I will have to do again to come out on top and that would make a good week a great one."