The opening race of the day, the shortened four-lap RST Superbike Race, had a 25 minute delay but got underway at 11:05 (local time) this morning, with teammates Hutchinson and Johnson lining up respectively aboard their Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 machines. Both riders had just started on their third lap, when the race was red-flagged due to an incident at Snugborough. The race was declared with no re-start, which saw Johnson finish seventh and ‘Hutchy’ 13th.
The Monster Energy Supersport TT Race 1 went ahead later in the evening at 18:30 (local time), with the Honda duo aboard CBR600RR machines. At the end of the first lap Hutchison was tenth and Johnson just outside the top-ten in 12th.
Sadly the weather stopped play at the end of the second lap, with rain coming in on the west side of the island. The result was declared, with Hutchison 10th and Johnson 14th.
Racing continues this week at the 2019 TT races with the Superstock race scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday 4 June), the second Supersport race on Wednesday (5 June) and the six-lap blue riband Senior TT on Friday 7 June.
Ian Hutchinson 4
The Superbike felt a bit like in a wet set-up, which was good to get some confidence and feel back. I really liked that for the beginning and could build up some speed again. Just when I started to push again and tried to get any speed I was limited to the bike’s behaviour but overall this was what was needed for me. I am sure we can now get the feeling right with the Fireblade for the Senior, especially on the suspension side of things. The Supersport race was another non-regular one and got flagged early. I don’t know, this year’s TT is just strange. Today has been more of a practice for us and we will now turn our heads to the rest of the week.
David Johnson 9
This year simply is a strange one. The Superbike race was scheduled for half distance due to the amount of practice and we had to take it easy in the first sectors, and the first lap, but once I got into a rhythm I was catching the guys in front of me. I was feeling good on the Fireblade and we’ve learned a lot of things about it again today, so hopefully we will have another shot at the Senior at the end of the week. For the Supersport it was cut short with rain coming in. I am still adapting to that bike and was struggling to get out of the corners. The 600s are a fairly new adventure for me, so we have some work to do there, but I’m confident my crew will be able to work on a package there that suits me for the next race. At least we got some laps in today and now hope to go racing again on Wednesday.
Jonny Twelvetrees
Not the results we were looking for but we found out a lot in that Superbike race. Both guys went off to a slow-ish start because of the lack of practice and they were not pushing on in the first lap, and especially the first few sectors as they might have if we had a lot of practice. Davo started to reel back the guys in front and if it was a longer race, I think he would have made up further ground. The Supersport race, was cut short due to the weather. Hutchy was going alright, I think he needs a few more changes on the suspension side of things in order to get it how he wants, as he’s struggling there. Davo is still getting a handle on the CBR600RR. He is a big guy and I think maybe misses the power a bit and we will now see what we can do to help him on that front. We also will look at the data to maybe find something where he can adapt his riding style to fit the 600. We have been racing today and that’s the positive and we hope we get some more of that this week.
Isle of Man TTSnaefell Mountain Course, Isle of Man
Road Racing 2019
| # | RIDER | NUM | TEAM | CONSTRUCTOR | TIME/GAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LEE JOHNSTON | 11 | ASHCOURT RACING | YAMAHA | 35:45.337 |
| 2 | JAMES HILLIER | 5 | QUATTRO PLANT WICKED COATINGS | KAWASAKI | +35:51.978 |
| 3 | PETER HICKMAN | 10 | K2 TROOPER BEER TRIUMPH BY SMITS RACING | TRIUMPH | +35:53:304 |
| 4 | DEAN HARRISON | 2 | SILICONE ENGINEERING | KAWASAKI | +36:06.308 |
| 5 | MICHAEL DUNLOP | 6 | MD RACING | HONDA | +36:09.462 |
| 6 | CONOR CUMMINS | 1 | MILENCO BY PADGETT’S MOTORCYCLES | HONDA | +36:15.922 |
| 7 | GARY JOHNSON | 7 | RAF REGULAR & RESERVES / LEE HARDY RACING | TRIUMPH | +36:17.425 |
| 8 | JAMIE COWARD | 15 | PREZ RACING | YAMAHA | +36:25.255 |
| 9 | DAVEY TODD | 74 | MILENCO BY PADGETT’S MOTORCYCLES | HONDA | +36:47.028 |
| 10 | IAN HUTCHINSON | 4 | HONDA RACING | HONDA | +36:55.133 |
| 14 | DAVID JOHNSON | 9 | HONDA RACING | HONDA | +37:25.784 |
