Klaus, Altendorfer, Meyer: Final checks ahead of tomorrow’s Manx GP races

Once again, the patience of the teams and riders at the Classic TT and the Manx Grand Prix was severely tested. As the Snaefell Mountain Course – which is over 60 kilometres long – needed time to dry out following the rainfall, they were only able to start qualifying more than three hours late.

In the Supersport class practice session for the Manx Grand Prix – in which Scotland’s Johnny Stewart set the fastest time for the third year running – Germany’s Moritz Klaus and Austria’s Thomas Altendorfer once again managed to significantly improve their times. The two newcomers thus easily cleared the qualifying hurdle for the race, scheduled for tomorrow at 15.15 CEST, over four challenging laps.

Whilst German rider Lorenz Rothärmel did not take to the track during the final practice session in the Sportbike class on Friday afternoon, his compatriot Chris Meyer managed two further laps on his Sportbike. However, he is still struggling with the pitfalls of a circuit that is extremely difficult for a newcomer to master. In the end, though, he had improved his lap time by over a minute compared to his first attempt on Wednesday.

In the premier class, the Formula 1 Classic TT, Jamie Coward – a British rider who now lives on the Isle of Man – took the lead after the first lap with a time of under 18 minutes, which he subsequently managed to beat. However, Mike Browne managed to lap the course considerably faster. With a time of 17:44.890 minutes, the Irishman set a time that remained unchallenged.

As on previous days, Michael Dunlop failed to break into the top three. The 36-time Tourist Trophy winner from Northern Ireland finished the practice session in fourth place, behind the consistently fast Australian David Johnson. Northern Irishman Shaun Anderson, who topped the timesheets on Wednesday, underlined his chances of a top-three finish in the race with fifth place.

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Although the quickshifter on his spare bike failed to work as intended on his very first lap, causing him to lose concentration, the Austrian Julian Trummer – who had tied the knot just a few days before the event on the Isle of Man – was more than satisfied.

With Isle of Man-based Briton Dean Harrison (Historic Junior), TT legend John McGuinness (Historic Senior) and record-breaking TT winner Michael Dunlop (Lightweight), there are certainly some familiar names at the top of the timesheets. It would certainly be a major surprise if these multiple TT winners did not finish top of their respective categories.