Michael Dunlop won a thrilling Corletts Trophies 1000cc Race with a stunning last lap move on race leader Guy Martin in the first race in the Isle of Man Steampacket Company Southern 100 meeting at the Billown circuit in the South of the Island. Australian Cameron Donald fought his way from 9th on the grid to take the final podium slot.

Guy Martin set the early pace, in perfect conditions, from pole position on the grid but was tracked from the off by Michael Dunlop. The pair clocked a series of laps inside the old lap record of 2:17.652, set by Guy Martin in 2008, and Martin went into the last lap of the 8 lap race with a slender 0.196 lead. He held the lead through backmarkers at Church Bends but was overtaken at ‘Stadium Bend’, just on the approach to Castletown Corner. Dunlop also took Martin’s lap record with 2:16.213 (112.324mhp) finishing with a race time of 18:23.260, just 0.121 ahead of Martin.

Commenting after the race Michael Dunlop said:

“I made a lunge into stadium and lost the front end and went right out onto the kerb, it was messy but held it to get through. It was a great race and I thought that Guy was away at the start but I just plugged and plugged away.”

Reflecting on the move Guy Martin said:

“Fair play to the boy. He was spot on. I looked back at one point and knew he was there and going into Cross Four-ways we came into some backmarkers on the last lap but no complaints. Proper race.”

In the 600cc Race that ran concurrently with the 1000cc class Wayne Hamilton took the honours with 19:47.755 from Davy Morgan (19:49.740) and Lee Vernon (20:34.974).

In the evening’s sidecar Race Klaus Klaffenbock/Dan Sayle took the honours after a major battle with Simon Neary/Jason Crowe and Ian and Carl Bell. At one point on the last lap of the six lap race less than a second separated the first three machines and although Klaffenbock/Sayle led for most of the race, Neary/Crowe nearly snatched a last gasp victory.