Today saw history made, not just by the riders on the track, but by the Clerk of the Course, Gary Thompson. His brave judgement call to bring racing forward by one day (and have no fallback position) was justified 100%; with the racing being run on dry roads and in mostly sunny conditions. The only problem for the riders was a stiffening wind that first hit them on Bray Hill; its direction meant that places such as May Hill were problematic, when normally they are not.

The second Lightweight and Ultra Lightweight Races over 3 laps began proceedings. These involved a mandatory pit stop; whether it was needed or not. In the Lightweight Race it was very much a case of déjà vu; the same podium party in the same order; with just slightly different margins. The race followed the pattern of yesterday evening’s first race. Francesco Curinga had the honour of being first away on his Paton and it was he who took the early initiative. He led by 2s at Glen Helen from yesterday’s winner James Hind, a stellar talent who looks even younger than his 19 years; but has a mature racing brain. Dave Butler; third yesterday, was third at Glen Helen, 3s down on Hind; newcomer Andrea Majola, (Paton) was fourth. The gaps between the top three were 1.6s and 2.6s at Ballaugh; where Majola had been pushed down to fifth by Michael Rees.

At the commentary point at Ramsey hairpin a small crowd had gathered to watch the action unfold. This may be a slow corner but it has its share of excitement with late braking causing some to overshoot and scramble around on the marbles just off the road proper. The leading trio reached the corner in their starting order; the Paton sounding wonderful as it accelerated away towards Waterworks. The timing showed that Hind led by 5s from Curinga; with Butler 2s further behind. Rees, Majola and Vicars held the lower leader board places.

An opening lap at 115.040mph gave Hind a lead of 3.55s as he passed the Grandstand on the screaming two stroke machine. Butler was 11.75s down on Curinga; but a healthy 33s ahead of Majola. Rees was1s further back and in turn had a 20s advantage over Vicars. Curinga was fastest to Glen Helen, where the lead for Hind was 2s. The race followed the familiar pattern of Hind blitzing the section to Ballaugh; as he reached the village his lead was out to 8s. The pace was very hot under the early afternoon sunshine; Hind’s lap was at 116.190mph. This gave him a lead of 13.48s as he came in for his fuel stop. His stop was slower than that of his main rivals meaning that he left pit lane with a reduced lead of 4.6s. Once again, Curinga was fastest to Glen Helen; where the lead was reduced to just 0.2s. Then came the familiar riposte; Hind led by over 6s at Ballaugh and gradually increased that advantage as the lap progressed. He came home to win by 11.752s from Curinga; with Butler 66.82s further behind in third place.

MGP Supporters Club Lightweight Race 2

1. James Hind                Yamaha                                             114.330mph
2. Francesco Curinga      Bemar Paton                                      113.954mph
3. Dave Butler               AG Fabrication Kawasaki                      111.864mph
4. Andrea Majola           Paton                                                 110.149mph
5. Michael Rees             GT Superbikes Kawasaki                      109.026mph
6. Brad Vicars                VRS Kawasaki                                    108.327mph

The concurrent Ultra Lightweight race did give us a different finishing order and another first time winner, in the shape of Tom Snow; last night’s runner-up. At Glen Helen on the first lap the leader was Rad Hughes; who had led for part of the first race; until a broken foot peg ruined his chances. He led by 5s from Snow; with Sarah Boyes holding third; last night’s winner Lancelot Unissart held fourth; with Alex Sinclair fifth.

Snow began to nibble at the lead and at the final check point before the Grandstand he had erased it. His first lap at 104.655mph gave him a slender 0.7s advantage from Hughes (104.599mph) as he raced past the Grandstand on the little Honda. Unissart was third, 10s down on Hughes. Sinclair, Lloyd Collins and Arnie Shelton completed the leader board. Snow went away unaware of his position as he shuns pit boards; preferring to race at his own pace. He gradually built his lead as the lap progressed and with the aid of the best lap of the race at 105.020mph he came in for his mandatory pit stop with a lead of 12.475s from Hughes.

He did not add fuel during the stop; simply put down his foot and proceeded. This gained him time over all of his rivals; most of whom had to take on board a little extra go juice. Unissart offended the pit lane thought police and received a 30s penalty for being too rapid in the speed restricted area. This dropped him out of the top 3 briefly; but by Glen Helen he had clawed his way back.

Snow was untroubled and came home to win by 44.2s; after a final lap at 103.400mph. Snow seemed quite bemused to have won; having had no idea of his position until guided into the Winners’   Enclosure; naturally he was delighted to have achieved his ambition. Hughes was happy to be second after the misfortune of yesterday. Unissart was content to have secured third after his misdemeanour in the pits; he knew he had done it and set the fastest final lap as he hunted down the podium finish.

MGP Supporters Club Ultra Lightweight Race 2

1. Tom Snow                       Falcon Honda                                     104.354mph
2. Radley Hughes                RAF Kawasaki                                    103.185mph
3. Lancelot Unissart             Pullen Honda                                     103.116mph
4. Alex Sinclair                    CSC Yamaha                                      103.022mph
5. Lloyd Collins                   Hack Kawasaki                                   101.918mph
6. Sebastian Witt                Kramer                                              101.442mph