Riders were warned of a lack of adhesion around the course and the chance of further rain as the fourth practice session of the 2011 Manx Grand Prix got under weay on Thursday evening.
The modern bikes were first on the course, with Grant Wagstaffe and David Lumsden leading the field away at 6.30pm, shortly after the scheduled start, and it was Wagstaffe who was first back to the Grandstand on his R6 Yamaha with an opening lap of 107.700mph, the quickest first lap.
In the SuperTwins newcomer Wayne Hamilton clocked the only 100+mph lap of the evening at 100.117.
It was clear that the competitors had listened to Clerk of the Course Phil Taubman’s advice and times were well down on the previous evening.
Later in the session, with reports of the roads drying, a number of riders went quicker on their second lap with Wagstaffe (111.003mph) and Paul Smyth (109.046,ph) topping the evening’s board, and Peter Symes (106.927mpg) the fastest Senior.
The Classic, Classic Superbike, Junior Post Classic, Lightweight and Newcomers B session got away with John Barton first away from pit lane on his 1985 Suzuki GSXR.
Ryan Farquhar had already been out on his Classic Superbike in the earlier session and, having stopped at Sulby the previous evening, he will have been pleased to post a lap, albeit one of only 91.654mph, which he followed up with 85.623mph on his second. Michael Dunlop came into the Grandstand at the end of the first lap and made adjustments before continuing on the XR69.
Mark Parrett also went out for the first time in the Junior Post Classic Class on an 1983 Armstrong, and Scotland’s Mark Buckley continued his fine form by posting the fastest opening lap of the Classic Superbike session with 101.151mph, before Dunlop topped it with a lap of 102.462mph on his first recorded lap and improved his time next time around to 104.283mph, from Mick Godfrey on the 997 Team Alf Kawasaki (101.43mph).
Paul Coward was the fastest Classic 500cc on the 1971 Nourish Westlake, while Chris Palmer was again fastest in the 350cc Classic class on the 1972 Drixon Honda and also later topped the Junior Post Classic times with a lap of 100.58mph on his 1991 Yamaha TZB.
Friday's session will see the Classic, Classic Superbike, Junior Post Classic, Lightweight and Newcomers B due to start the session at 6.20pm, with the Senior, Junior, SuperTwin and Newcomers A scheduled to go out at 7.05pm, ahead of Saturday’s Newcomers Race.
