Dean Harrison and Bruce Anstey took the spotlight on Tuesday as the 2019 Classic TT hit its stride with an uninterrupted evening of high-speed action.
Following a Saturday session curtailed by inclement weather conditions, a balmy evening allowed for the Tuesday evening session to get underway on time, with 2019 Isle of Man TT Senior winner Harrison once more demonstrating his affinity with the Mountain Course by heading the Superbike timesheets.
Riding a Kawasaki ZXR750 under the Silicone Engineering Racing banner, Harrison – who only this weekend was riding in the British Superbike race at Cadwell Park – powered round in a 123.42mph lap from a standing start, which was enough for him to come out on top despite an exhaust problem forcing him into the pit-lane.
Horst Saiger was second quickest on the Egli Vincent with a 122.87mph lap – which ensured he was quickest in terms of average speed at 118mph – ahead of Derek Shields (Greenall Honda ), Jamie Coward (Ted Woof/Craven Manx Norton).
There was disappointment for Paul Jordan (Mistral Kawasaki), Lee Johnston (Binch Yamaha) and Gary Johnson (Team York Suzuki) after they all suffered issues during the session and were forced to retire.
Anstey marks TT return with Lightweight benchmark
After two years out of action on the TT Mountain Course, Anstey was the headline-grabber in the Lightweight class with a top lap of 116.28mph atop the Padgetts Yamaha, ahead of Harrison on 114.28mph and Daniel Sayle on the John Champman Racing Honda.
“It was great to get out and on the second lap things clicked and it felt like normal and as though I’d never been away.”
“I’m just over the moon,” said team owner Clive Padgett. “We said to Bruce before the lap if you’re not feeling it we’ll pick you up at Ballacraine. He’s loving life – it’s incredible. He was smiling from the off and all the fans are so pleased to see him back and we’ve had so many great comments.”
2019 CLASSIC TT SUPERBIKE ENTRY LIST & SCHEDULE
