Rob Hodson Wins Inaugural Junior 600 Classic TT Race
Rob Hodson takes the inaugural Junior 600 Classic TT win with a 120.276mph fastest lap on the Neil Orford Haulage Yamaha.
Rob Hodson has won the first-ever Junior 600 Classic TT race, taking victory by more than 24 seconds after setting the fastest lap of the race at 120.276mph.
The Wigan rider led from the opening lap on the Neil Orford Haulage Yamaha and gradually built a comfortable advantage over Barry Furber, who finished second on the Robinson Timber Yamaha.
Hodson’s opening lap of 119.589mph gave him a 10.78-second lead over Furber, with Michael Russell third and a further five seconds back. That advantage continued to grow through the second lap, although Furber closed the gap slightly towards the finish.
Furber was forced to manage a fuel problem in the closing stages, but still held onto second. He crossed the line just 0.409 seconds ahead of Joe Yeardsley, who had started from pole after topping qualifying.
Yeardsley had been among the early leaders and was only fifth at the end of the opening lap, but moved through to third on the final tour after passing Russell.
His second lap was also above 120mph, at 120.091mph, but it wasn't quite enough to catch Furber.
Russell finished fourth, ahead of Ryan Whitehall and Tom Robinson, while Marcus Simpson, Julien Cregniot, Paul Cassidy and Tom Weeden completed the top ten.
The race was held in good conditions around the Mountain Course, with just seven seconds separating the top six at Glen Helen on the opening lap. Hodson's pace soon stretched the field, though, and by the time the riders reached Ramsey for the final time he had more than 13 seconds in hand over Furber.
The Junior 600 Classic TT is a new class for 2026, designed around the pre-injection 600cc Supersport bikes that defined much of 1990s road racing.
That means machines based on some of the era's most familiar middleweight sports bikes are now back on the Mountain Course.
Hodson therefore gets his name in the record books as the first winner of the class. More importantly, the inaugural race has already shown that the old-school 600s still have plenty of life left in them.
Find the latest motorcycle news on Visordown
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
