HODSON NEARS RECORD WHILST MCGUINNESS TOPS HISTORIC SENIOR QUALIFYING
ISLE OF MAN – The second qualifying session for this year’s Classic TT saw perfect weather conditions all around the Mountain Course on Thursday evening.
The second qualifying session for this year’s Classic TT saw perfect weather conditions all around the Mountain Course on Thursday evening. It was Rob Hodson who was again quickest of the night in the Formula TT.
Whilst 23-time TT winner John McGuinness topped the Historic Senior leaderboard, Adam McLean set the pace in the Lightweights. Meanwhile, Michael Sweeney was on the charge in the Historic Junior.
Riding the SMT by Key Racing Ducati, Hodson lapped at 127.402mph in the Formula 1 Classic session. His speed was just eight tenths of a second outside Bruce Anstey’s lap record of 127.496mph set in 2017.
Sharing track time with the Manx Grand Prix competitors, the Formula 1 Classic machines were out first at 6.30pm.
As on the opening night, Nathan Harrison led the field away on the Greenall Racing Kawasaki. Team-mate Jamie Coward followed him with Mike Browne next to go on The Bike Specialist by Key Racing Ducati. Hodson then took to the course.
Kawasaki-mounted Julian Trummer, Craig Neve and Brian McCormack were soon on their way. Davo Johnson and Ian Hutchinson were also on the move. However, it was Hodson who again set the early pace. He led Davey Todd by four-tenths of a second through Glen Helen first time around, with Harrison, Dominic Herbertson, McCormack, Paul Jordan, Neve, and Coward all close behind on Kawasaki machinery.
There was little to choose between Todd, Harrison, and Hodson on the opening lap.
Harrison was quickest at 125.107mph, followed by Hodson at 124.897mph. Todd’s pace dropped over the Mountain though, and his lap ended up at a more modest 119.254mph.
That meant Coward (123.535mph) was third quickest, followed by Jordan (122.894mph), McCormack (121.895mph) and Neve (121.780mph). Johnson, Joe Yeardsley and Michael Evans also broke the 120mph barrier. In addition, Michael Dunlop achieved this with a lap of 120.588mph on the Norton. It was a marked improvement from the previous night.
Second time around, Hodson’s pace jumped up to a superb 127.402mph.
Coward moved into second on the leaderboard with a strong lap of 126.400mph. Johnson (123.125mph), Neve (122.628mph), McCormack (122.052mph), and Evans (121.333mph) all improved their speeds. Harrison’s second lap of 125.221mph meant he ended the session third quickest overall. The top six was completed by Johnson, Jordan, and Neve.
At 7.20pm, the Historic Senior, Historic Junior and Lightweight machines took their turn. In the Historic Senior, it was John McGuinness MBE who led the way on the Winfield Paton, lapping at 110.624mph. That put him ten seconds clear of Mike Browne on the Peter Lodge Racing Norton at 109.764mph.
Ian Lougher, on the second Paton, placed third at 106.204mph. However, he was relegated to fifth as Yeardsley (108.844mph) and Jordan (106.623mph) moved ahead. Conor Cummins completed his first laps of the 2025 Classic TT meeting with 104.272mph, placing sixth just in front of fellow Manxmen Evans (102.729mph) and Dan Sayle (102.458mph).
It was a good night for Evans, who topped the Historic Junior times with 103.352mph on Ken Rutter’s Honda.
It was the quickest of the week so far. Jordan (102.522mph) and Yeardsley (102.430mph) weren’t far behind. Dean Harrison (99.787mph), Alan Oversby (97.594mph), and Maurizio Bottalico (97.070mph) completed the top six. Harrison was on course for a 103mph lap before stopping at Glen Duff on his second circuit.
The Lightweight Classic session was also closely contested, with the 250cc Yamaha of Adam McLean setting the pace at 112.929mph. Stuart Hall was close behind at 112.218mph, the pair separated by just 4.4 seconds.
Michael Sweeney (111.218mph) was third quickest on his 250cc Honda. Next were Rhys Hardisty (111.467mph) and Chris Moore (109.992mph) on their Yamaha TZs. The top six was rounded out by Owen Monaghan. He was again the fastest 400cc rider, with an improved speed of 109.343mph.