11:30 hrs - Bennetts Senior Classic TT Race (4 Laps)

13:00 hrs - Classic TT Main Stage Paddock Show

13.55 - 14.30 - CTT Junior / Superbike Qualifying (1 Lap)

14:30 hrs - Bob McIntyre 100mph Lap Anniversary by Michael Dunlop

15:30 hrs - Dunlop Lightweight Classic TT Race (4 Laps)

17:15 hrs - Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Classic TT Vintage Parade

19:30 hrs - Classic TT Party

20:30 hrs - Sundown Cinema (World's Fastest Indian)

Dry and bright Saturday, with sunny intervals, light to moderate westerly winds and highs of 19 Celsius.

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Listen to Manx Radio online via the MR Smartphone app, AM1368, 87.9FM in Douglas and 100.6FM in the north

11:30 hrs - Bennetts Senior Classic TT Race (4 Laps)

Dry today with prolonged spells of sunshine and a mostly light westerly breeze. Pleasantly warm with temperatures reaching up to 18 or 19°C at best.

11:15- Delay to Start, due to oil on the circuit

11:34 - Announcement for an 11:45 START

11:45 - First away is Lougher

15:30 hrs - Dunlop Lightweight Classic TT Race (4 Laps)

15:10 - C-of-C announces a 16:00 start for the Lightweight

16:00 - Lougher is away to start the Lighweight

Josh Brookes clinched his first TT Mountain Course win with victory in today’s thrilling Bennetts Senior Classic TT Race, the opening race of the 2017 Classic TT Races presented by Bennetts.

The Australian led from the start of the race and completed his victory on the Team Winfield Paton with a commanding thirty-four second gap ahead of runner-up Jamie Coward.Afterwards a clearly elated Brookes said:

“My first board wasn’t updated and the second board had me at ‘P +0 so I gave it everything I’d got and risked blowing the engine.  It was nice to be able to fill in for John which is a great honour but also to win the race for the team.”

After a short delay to clear an oil spill on Bray Hill, the Isle of Man Classic TT Races roared into life at 11.45am.  Last year’s race winner, 23 time TT Race winner John McGuinness, was the official race starter as he continues his recovery from injuries sustained in his North-West 200 accident.

Ian Lougher, the 2014 race winner, had the honour of being first away on the John Chapman Racing MV Agusta but the Welsh rider was reported as a retirement at Greeba Bridge on the opening lap. Dean Harrison on the Black Eagle Racing MV was also out of the race on the opening lap at Ballagarey while Michael Rutter was unhurt after sliding out at Ballacraine on his Ripley Land Racing Matchless bike.

Brookes was first to Glen Helen, establishing a lead of over seven seconds from William Dunlop on the Davies Motorsport Honda with Maria Costello, looking to emulate her podium place in last year’s race, in third on the Team Beugger Paton less than a second behind Dunlop. Jamie Coward on the Ted Woof Norton was fourth half a second further back with Michael Dunlop riding the Black Eagle Racing MV Agusta fifth.Coward moved into second place at Ballaugh but was already twelve seconds behind Brookes and the Australian extended his lead to over the second placed man to twenty seconds by Ramsey.

Alan Oversby, who was in fifth place, was black flagged at Sulby Bridge with smoke coming out of his Davies Motorsport Honda machine but the Morecambe man was allowed to continue, and given a time credit for the stop, although the bike eventually gave up the ghost at Ballaugh Bridge on his second lap.

Jamie Coward was first through the Grandstand clocking 108.340mph but Josh Brookes was the leader at the end of the opening lap with his lap of 111.295 (20:20.432) – his fastest of the week.   Maria Costello maintained her third place (108.204) a second behind Coward with William Dunlop (107.743) and Bill Swallow (105.625) rounding out the top five.

However Swallow, who came into the pits at the end of his first lap, was given a thirty second penalty for speeding in the pits which dropped him down the order while Michael Dunlop retired in the pits at the end of his opening lap when running in 11th place.

Josh Brookes posted 110.839 on his second lap, and elected to run straight through which gave him a lead of almost forty seconds over second placed Coward - who was timed at 110.054 - which would be needed with Coward able to complete four straight laps on the single cylinder Norton.

Costello, however did choose to come in for a ‘splash and dash’ on the second lap and her lead of less than a second over Dunlop became a forty eight second deficit by Glen Helen on her third lap with Dunlop still to pit.  Michael Russell riding for Izzard Racing Norton was the leading privateer and completed the top five.

The true race leader board only became clearer at the end of the third lap with Josh Brookes coming in for a fifty-three second pit stop after a lap of 110.823 and Jamie Coward running straight through after a third lap of 110.057, the fastest ever single cylinder lap of the Mountain Course.  Brookes lead was duly revealed to be down to 2.5 seconds ahead of Coward at Glen Helen on his fourth lap.

William Dunlop also came in at the end of his third lap (108.606) and with a 39 second pit stop, he remained in third place at Glen Helen on the last lap, 8 seconds ahead of Costello but well over a minute behind the leading pair.

At the front of the field Brookes continued to move ahead of Coward and a last lap of 108.068 gave the Australian his first TT Mountain Course victory in 1:22.11.712./ 110.167mph

Coward held the runner up position with an overall race time of 1:22.45.472/ 109.412 while Dunlop clinched the final podium place with a last lap of 104.449 and an overall race time of 1:24.18.778/ 107.400. Costello (1:24.26.278/ 107.241) finished fourth with Dominic Herbertson fifth and Bill Swallow sixth. Michael Russell, who finished in seventh place, was the leading privateer.

PICTURES BY DAVE KNEEN/PACEMAKER PRESS

Bruce Anstey shattered a number of records on his way to repeating last year’s victory in this afternoon’s Dunlop Lightweight Classic TT Race, the second race in the 2017 Isle of Man Classic TT Races presented by Bennetts.

The flying Kiwi started by breaking the outright 250cc lap record on his opening lap, becoming the first rider to do a 250cc lap under 19 minutes which he followed up by becoming the first 250cc rider to post a 120mph lap on his second lap and he also broke his own race record by over a minute.

In the winners enclosure Anstey revealed that the team had been specifically targeting the 120mph lap;

“Clive [Padgett] ’s done brilliantly getting the bike up to spec over the winter. We have been targeting the 120mph lap so it’s great to get it in the bag.  I used Ian as a bit of a target and went flat out for the first two laps.”

In a day when the clock was turned back on the Isle of Man it was clearly a day for the veterans with the top three riders – Anstey, Michael Rutter and Ian Lougher - all having made their Mountain Course debuts in the 1980s and 1990s.

Lougher on the Laylaw Racing Yamaha was first away and the Welshman lead on the road at Glen Helen at the opening checkpoint but Anstey had already taken 9 seconds out of him on the clock with Dan Sayle riding the Steelcote Solutions Yamaha the Kiwi’s nearest challenger, four seconds behind the race leader at Glen Helen.

Anstey moved in front on the road at Ballaugh on the opening lap and extended his race lead over the Mountain section before posting an opening lap of 119.888mph/ 18:52.960, the fastest ever lap by a 250 machine, and the first under the 19 minute barrier – all the more remarkable as it was set from a standing start.

Behind the Kiwi Dan Sayle was trying to give the Padgetts Motorcycles.com rider some competition but the Manx rider was already 25 seconds down with his opening lap of 117.225 with Michael Rutter on the Red Fox Grinta Racing Ducati, a tribute to his father Tony, completing the top three in 116.903. Lougher (116.657) was maintaining a podium challenge just over two seconds behind Rutter with Ivan Lintin (114.950) completing the top five.

That remained the order on lap 2 with Anstey breaking his own lap one record with a lap of 120.475/ 18:47.438, the first 120mph 250cc lap in the history of the Mountain Course with the New Zealander slowing down for his pit stop.

Anstey’s record breaking opening two laps gave him a lead of over fifty seconds from Dan Sayle (117.740) with Michael Rutter maintaining his podium challenge only five seconds behind Sayle. Lougher and Ivan Lintin held fourth and fifth places respectively going into the third lap.

Dan Sayle was reported as a retirement at Garey Ford near Kerrowmoar which saw Michael Rutter move into second place at Ramsey with Lougher slotting into the final podium position but Anstey’s lead at the end of lap three after a lap of 113.233mph was a decisive seventy seconds ahead of Rutter with Lougher (111.580) a further thirteen seconds back in third place.

That remained the top three at the finish with Anstey taking the race in a new record time of / 117.853/ 1:16:50.072. Rutter’s final lap of 116.662 saw him finish in the runner-up up slot in 115.723/ 1:18.14.929 with fellow veteran Ian Lougher third in 115.665 1:18.17.289. Stuart Hall riding for Martyn Nelson Yamaha (109.416/ 1:22:45.565) was the leading privateer in eighth place.

[i]Bruce Anstey (250 Honda/Padgetts Motorcycles.com) at The Bungalow during the Dunlop Lightweight Classic TT race[/i]

During post race scrutineering, a technical infringement was found in the Red Fox Grinta Racing machine ridden by Michael Rutter in the Lightweight Classic TT Race.

Michael Rutter has therefore been removed from the results with Ian Lougher promoted to second place and Ivan Lintin on the John Chapman Racing Honda is now awarded the third place finish.