Now the frantic two weeks on the Isle of Man has come to an end and all the teams have headed home, it was a fantastic racing week for Gary Johnson and his East Coast Racing team. Practice week went well and despite some loss of time on track due to weather conditions and other aspects Gary was running towards the top of the time sheets in all the classes. The race week was also a successful one for Gary and the team securing a third in the Superbike Race, a fourth and stunning win in the Supersport races, a DNF in Superstocks and a seventh in the final Senior race.

The first race was last Saturday 4th June, the Dainese Superbike race and six laps of the very technical and demanding 37-mile TT course. Gary was running number 11 all week so it was a waiting game on the time sheets with him setting off one minute 40 seconds behind number one man John McGuiness. It was soon clear early on the Gary was going well and was consistently in the top five at every sector of the track. Disaster struck at the end of lap four when Gary exceeded the pit lane speed and was fined a 30 second penalty for this mistake, this cost him second place in the race. He ended up finishing a great third place only nine seconds behind Cameron Donald.

Dainese Superbike Result

John McGuinness – Honda
Cameron Donald – Honda
Gary Johnson – East Coast Racing / Lincs Lifting Ltd


The next race was on Monday 6th June which was race one of the Monster Energy Supersport Race, Gary was feeling confident about the race as the Supersport Honda has been the one he has been riding in the British Championship this season. This was scheduled to be a four lap race and the weather and track conditions were good. Gary was third after lap one but on lap two a serious incident forced the race to be red flagged and a full restart was declared over a three lap race. Gary and the East Coast Racing team made the choice to stop after lap two of this race for their pit stop, a bit of a gamble with other teams stopping for fuel after the opening lap. With Gary not stopping on lap one this put him into the lead on the road and it would all go down to the vital pit stop at the end of lap two, the East Coast Team had to ensure enough fuel was put in the tank to allow him to finish the race but this dropped him back to fourth place at the end of the final lap.

Monster Energy Supersport Race 1 Result

Bruce Anstey – Honda
Keith Amor – Honda
Guy Martin – Suzuki
Gary Johnson – East Coast Racing Honda


The Royal London Superstock race on Monday evening was the only race of the week that Gary and the team were unable to finish. He got a good start and was fourth after the opening lap behind Guy Martin, Michael Dunlop and John McGuinness, but on lap two the Lincolnshire man ran out of fuel on his Superstock bike and put a quick end to his race.

Royal London Superstock Result

Michael Dunlop – Kawasaki
John McGuinness – Honda
Guy Martin - Suzuki
Gary Johnson – DNF


The tables of luck turned for the better for Gary on Thursday, after the second Supersport race on Wednesday was postponed until Thursday morning after heavy rain hit the Island on Wednesday morning. Proceedings finally got underway on Thursday and Gary was in the mood for a good result and he totally dominated the four lap race from start to finish winning by ten seconds from his nearest rival. The East Coast team produced the second fastest pit stop at the end of lap two with Gary setting the fastest speeds through the speed traps on several laps.

Monster Energy Supersport Race 2 Result

Gary Johnson – East Coast Racing
John McGuinness – Honda
Guy Martin – Suzuki


The Isle of Man TT is a race where you are just not quite sure what is going to happen and how the races will pan out. The final big race of the week, the Senior was planned for early Friday afternoon but the Manx weather had other ideas and the rain kept falling. The organisers kept delaying to start to assess the situation and ensure that all riders were racing in the safest possible conditions. The race finally got underway at 5:15pm, it was not the end to the week that Gary and the team were hoping for. After a few practice laps on Thursday night the team found a small crack in the Ohlins forks and they had to make a last minute swap to K-Tech, sadly Gary was unable to get any testing time on these and therefore had to ride more cautiously during the race and brought the bike back home in seventh place.

PokerStars Senior TT Results

John McGuinness – Honda
Guy Martin – Suzuki
Bruce Anstey – Honda
Cameron Donald – Honda
Keith Amor – Honda
Michael Dunlop – Kawasaki
Gary Johnson – East Coast Racing / Lincs Lifting Ltd Honda


Overall it was a good week, Gary commented

“It’s been a real emotional rollercoaster this week, you spend all year thinking about what is going to happen there as you just never know. There is a lot of luck involved but also a lot of work put in by all the team and it’s all very mentally draining but well worth it when the results come. Obviously the highlight of my week was taking my first ever TT win on Thursday in the Supersport race, it’s still sinking in that I’m a TT race winner, it’s just awesome. I couldn’t have done it without the help and support of my friends and family, my sponsors and of course the team who worked hour after hour to make sure everything was right. Thanks must go to John at Lincs Lifting Ltd, Phil from East Coast and Spider, James and the boys for everything they have done this week, I’m so grateful and glad I could repay them with two TT podiums. It was a really good week and to be honest I can’t wait to get back here next year and do it all again!”

Team Manager Phil Reed said

“This is only my second ever TT running a team so to come home with two podiums and one being a race win is something very special. The team worked really hard for the last two weeks and deserve a well earned break now – however we are heading straight to Knockhill so they might have to wait! I’m really pleased for Gary he was showing form all through practice and to get a win just topped it all off, brilliant. Thanks to all the people that helped us through the two weeks and all the sponsors that made it possible for us to be there, roll on next year!”

The East Coast Racing Team will be re-joined by other team member Lee Johnston for round five of the British Supersport Championship this weekend at Knockhill – 17th – 19th June.

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