A cool and overcast morning greeted the riders, marshals and fans gathered at the picturesque Billown Circuit for the main menu of the Pre-TT Classic Races. The first event was the Support Race and it proved a tasty starter.

Meredydd Owen had a healthy lead at commentary point at Cross Four Ways on the first lap on his Ebay purchase, a 598cc Bitsa Honda. Alan Smallbones held second just ahead of the main cavalry charge. On lap 2 he held a lead of 10.2s from Tony Russell; whose little Yamaha had been slow away from the lights. Chris Clark passed Smallbones on the brakes to take third on his 250cc Honda. The pursuers increased their pace and began to close the gap; cutting it to 3s on lap 5. On the final lap it was very close indeed as they took the tight right hand bend for the final time. Owen just managed to keep the snarling two strokes at bay to win the race by just 0.196s from Russell with Clark 2.14s further behind.

Support Race

1. Meredydd Owen Honda 79.897mph
2. Tony Russell Yamaha 79.841mph
3. Chris Clark Honda 79.737mph

The Quine & Cubbon Lightweight Race was the next item on the agenda and it proved to be a fine race with some good battles throughout the field for the crowd to enjoy. Ewan Hamilton and Dave Edwards were the fastest out of the traps and they were 2.1s clear of Mike Hose and Tom Jackson as they powered away towards Church Bends. Terry Kermode and Alan Jackson filled out the early leader board. Behind them came the main pack; it was good to see Les Trotter back on track after his illness. Hamilton was 1.2s ahead of Edwards on lap 2; Hose had his little Ariel singing nicely and he had closed to within 20m of Edwards. Hamilton’s lead was the same on lap3; but it was Hose who was the pursuer now.

The leader board positions behind these two remained the same for the remainder of the race. The only matter in doubt was who would win the scrap at the sharp end. On lap 4 the lead was down to 20m; on lap 5 it was just 2m as they screeched their way along the short straight to Church. On the final lap Hose managed to nip inside Hamilton at Ballabeg.

At Cross Four Ways, Hose led by mere inches as they left our view. Hose had the better of it in passing some slower riders on the run to Stadium and managed to fend off Hamilton and win by 0.47s. Newcomers Jeff Ward and Bill Butler won the scrap at the head of the main pack to take 7th and 8th respectively; they will be men to watch next year.

Quine & Cubbon Lightweight Race

1. Mike Hose Ariel 83.188mph
2. Ewan Hamilton Suzuki 83.150mph
3. Dave Edwards Yamaha 82.491mph
4. Tom Jackson Suzuki 80.805mph
5. Terry Kermode Yamaha 79.386mph
6. Alan Bud Jackson Suzuki 77.813mph


The next race for our delectation was the Greystones Senior Race over 8 laps of the challenging 4.25 miles circuit. Conditions were perfect with some diffuse sunlight playing on the scene to warm the spectators. From the inside of the corner at Cross Four Ways the noise of the machines was tremendous as the throttles were opened just a couple of metres away and the sounds echoed of the cottages; far better than being 200m away at a plastic circuit. Alan Oversby had his Weslake out the blocks faster than Usain Bolt and he led by 1.2s from Roy Richardson as they roared past the white cottages for the first time. Bill Swallow was third; then came the cavalry charge as the rest of the filed fought for position. On lap 2 Oversby was still leading narrowly from Richardson, with Swallow with Swallow now 4.7s down on the leader. The action was superb as the riders charged past, Peter Boast, Steven Elliott , Ken Davis and Bob Price leading the chasing pack. Oversby began to ease from Richardson at the head of the field; the latter struggling with an intermittent misfire; one that put him out of the afternoon’s 850cc Race. Swallow’s race was over after lap 3, as was that of Peter Boast. Oversby led by 4.2 on lap 4 from Richardson; behind them Davis and Elliott were having a great battle for the final podium placing. Behind them Price and Hose seemed fairly secure in 5th and 6th respectively. The race continued to provide great entertainment as it progressed, with the Davis / Elliott battle the main focus. Davis was 3rd at Cross Four Ways by a couple of metres on the final lap. Elliott made a pass on the inside at the flat out Stadium Bend and kept his nose in front at the final corner. Davis could not edge past on the sprint to the finish line and settled for 4th just 0.26s adrift of Elliott.

Greystones Senior Race

1. Alan Oversby Weslake 91.214mph
2. Roy Richardson Aermacchi 90.085mph
3. Steven Elliott Honda 87.083mph
4. Ken Davis Honda 87.066mph
5. Bob Price Seeley 86.465mph
6. Mike Hose Honda 86.459mph


The final race of the morning was the Sidecar Camathias Cup. Wally Saunders and Eddy Kiff grabbed the lead from the start and were never challenged seriously on the 980cc BMW. Eddy Wright and Trevor Johnson were second on their 750cc BMW; but by a tiny margin from impressive newcomers Kerry Wiiliams / Billy Weston (750cc Honda). Try as he might Williams could not put in a telling blow and Wright secured second by just 0.835s. Adrian Dedman / Theresa Langford were delighted to claim 10th on the sit up and beg Norton. The Ducati of Guido and Zita Reichmuth gave the crowd another talking point.

Sidecar Camathias Cup

1. Wally Saunders / Eddy Kiff BMW 80.107mph
2. Eddy Wright / Trevor Johnson BMW 79.951mph
3. Kerry Williams / Billy Weston Honda 79.856mph


After lunch at the gourmet burger van; it was Ballakeighan for the three afternoon races and what a superb spectacle they provided for the large crowd basking in the afternoon sunshine. Roy Richardson being a non-starter robbed us of a potential winner; but did not diminish the quality of the action. Bursting into view at the head of the cavalry charge was Alan Oversby on his big Seeley Weslake; he was chased hard by Bob Price, Jamie O’Brien and Alec Whitwell. Behind them Meredydd Owen and Mark Herbertson came very close to locking horns literally. It was hectic action as the 24 riders fought for track position. Oversby had pulled a 3s advantage on lap 2 from Price; whose machine was beginning to pour out smoke; the harbinger of its imminent demise. Bill Swallow and Paul Coward were other potential podium men to park up on lap 2. Jamie O’Brien held third by a slender margin from Mike Walker. Oversby’s lead was up to 11.2s over O’Brien whose machine was beginning to smoke worryingly. Walker and Whitwell were engaged in close combat 75m astern of O’Brien. Oversby had increased his lead to over seconds on lap 4; with Whitwell up to second as O’Brien’s machine slowed. On lap 6 Oversby led from Whitwell; Walker was third but being closed down by Steven Elliot; whilst behind them came the smoking machines of O’Brien and Peter Boast. O’Brien’s machine duly gave up the ghost on lap 6 and Elliot managed to force his way past Walker to take another podium finish. The demise of O’Brien allowed Bob Owen to take 6th on his Seeley G50.

A D Hewitt Senior Race

1. Alan Oversby 750 Weslake Seeley 89.111mph
2. Alec Whitwell 750 Honda 87.541mph
3. Steven Elliot 500 Honda 87.214mph
4. Mike Walker 750 Trident 87.209mph
5. Peter Boast 500 Honda 86.918mph
6. Bob Owen 500 Seeley G50 85.093mph


The penultimate race of the meeting was the latest a series of superb Junior Races at this meeting. Pre-race favourites Roy Richardson, Alan Oversby and Mike Hose led the charge from the lights and into the right hand bend at Ballakeighan. Right behind them were Ken Davis, Paul Coward and Steve Elliot. Barry Davidson and Bill Swallow were at the head of the next group to sweep past and power away towards Iron Gate. On lap 2 Richardson had a lead of 10m from Oversby; Hose had dropped back to be 1.8s down on Oversby. Next through were Coward and Elliot; then a close battle between Davis and Swallow. Just behind them Barry Davidson and Rich Hawkins were engaged in their own private scrap. Stuart Robinson had a lucky escape when his machine seized on the long straight leading to Iron Gate the machine tried its best to throw him off; thankfully he was able to hold on and bring it safely to a halt. On lap 3 Oversby was inches off the back wheel of Richardson’s machine as they swept past. Hose, Coward and Elliot held station but Swallow was clear of Davis who was falling back towards the Davidson / Hawkins battle. The fight for the lead was intense with Richardson keeping a tiny lead on lap 4. As they began the second half of the race Richardson had a lead of just 5 metres from the Honda of Oversby. The other positions were also unchanged as they passed us; however the race was soon to be over for Elliot whose machine cried enough. The next to take an early bath was Oversby; mechanical problems forcing him to park the Honda and end the enthralling battle for honours. There no more dramas; Richardson eased his pace and duly took victory on the immaculate Bullock Aermacchi by 25s from Hose. Coward, Swallow, Hawkins and Davis completed the leader board.


M. E. S. Junior Race

1. Roy Richardson Aermacchi 88.300mph
2. Mike Hose Honda 86.734mph
3. Paul Coward Honda 84.784mph
4. Bill Swallow Honda 84.655mph
5. Rich Hawkins Ducati 84.636mph
6. Ken Davis Honda 83.959mph

The best was kept for last; in the form of the Hire Post Classic Superbike Race. This had an eclectic mix of machinery and gave us some fantastic high speed duelling. The race featured two classes but they were all engaged in one race on the track. Alan Oversby led the charge into Ballakeighan but came in too hot and nearly lost the race before it had begun properly; he managed to stay on track and retain his lead. A solid knot of riders followed 15m after him; at the head of it were Dave Madsen-Mygdal, Paul Coward, James Cowton, Mike Hose and Mike Walker. On lap 2 it was Dave Madsen-Mygdal who had a tiny lead from Oversby. Could it be an emotional win for Dave who was riding the RC30 and number 27 campaigned by his son Mark on the Billown Circuit last year. Mark won this race last year but sadly lost his life in an accident at stadium during the Southern 100 last year. Coward was 3rd, Walker 4th, Cowton 5th; whilst Dean Harrison had moved into 6th on his smoking Kawasaki. Dean had started from row 5; due to a problematic practice. On the third lap Madsen-Mygdal still had a tiny lead from Oversby; with Hose just 5m behind him. Harrison had continued his progress on the smoking Kawasaki and was 10m ahead of Walker in 4th, Cowton held 6th overall and retained the lead in Class A (250cc-350cc). Lap 4 saw more changes; Oversby led again, but it was Harrison in 2nd with Madsen-Mygdal in 3rd. Dave decided to sit back from Harrison; expecting the smoking machine to expire at any time. The pace was very hot with the leaders lapping at just under Guy Martin’s lap record of 99.882mph. Harrison had the lead as he powered past us for the fifth time. Oversby was second; Madsen-Mygdal was 3rd, Walker 4th, Coward 5th and coming under pressure from a charging Cowton. On lap six Harrison had extended his lead to 5.9s from Oversby who was being challenged by Madsen-Mygdal. Oversby’s race was soon over; a machine failure ending his challenge. Walker retained 4th but by mere inches from Cowton who had the little Yamaha singing sweetly. Harrison’s lead was 7.1s as he began the penultimate lap hoping that the machine’s holed radiator would not lead to the machine expiring. Cowton was absolutely flying and hustled the Yamaha around at 99.466mph to set a new class lap record, 4.2s inside the old one set by Roy Richardson in 2012. There were to be no more changes and Harrison took victory by 6.09s from Madsen-Mygdal. Cowton was third and set a new class race record beating Roy Richardson’s 2012 mark by 28s. Mike Walker took 4th after a great ride on the Ellis OWO1; Hose was 5th and Coward 6th. There were super rides from meeting newcomer Jack Hunter in 11th and circuit newcomer Stephen Reape in 11th and 12 the respectively.


Hire Post Classic Superbikes

1. Dean Harrison 750 Kawasaki 97.539mph
2. Dave Madsen-Mygdal 750 Honda 97.068mph
3. James Cowton 250 Yamaha 97.032mph
4. Mike Walker 750 Yamaha 96.392mph
5. Mike Hose 850 Weslake 96.363mph
6. Paul Coward 750 Suzuki 96.319mph




Courtesy of Superbike News.
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