Hutchie makes it five!

Ian Hutchinson re-wrote the TT history book s when he won today’s Senior TT. It was his fifth win of the 2010 TT, the first time ever that anyone has won all five races in one year on the TT schedule.

But today’s races were marred by two huge high-speed crashes. Guy Martin crashed at Ballagarey and when fuel from his bike caught fire, the race had to be red-flagged.

And in the restarted race, run over four laps later in the afternoon, Conor Cummins crashed at the Verandah.

Both riders were airlifted to hospital. Martin was later reported to have bruised lungs and minor fractures in his upper spine. Cummins was reported to be serious but stable.

Lap 1
From the off John McGuinness led on the HM Plant Honda from the Padgetts Honda of  Ian Hutchinson and Conor Cummins’s McAdoo Kawasaki, the three of them separated by 0.67 at Glen Helen. Martin was fourth on Wilson Craig’s Honda.

Cummins had taken the lead by the end of the lap from Martin with Hutchinson third and McGuinness back to fourth.

Lap 2
Cummins led at Ramsey but McGuinness had clawed his way back into contention and led by 0.9s as the riders started their first round of pitstops, but thanks to some nifty pit work, had 5.0s lead from Martin who in turn had 3.0s on Hutchinson.

McGuinnes had a 9.22s lead at Glen Helen from Hutchinson but Martin was off the leaderboard, having crash heavily at Ballagarey.

Restart Lap 1
The pace was fearsome on the first lap of the four-lap re-run. Hutchinson did 131.487mph, followed by McGuinness at 131.410mph and Cummins at 131.123mph – the thre rider separated by 2.87s.

Keith Amor was running fourth on the second HM Plant Honda, from Ryan Farquhar, Bruce Anstey on the Relentless by TAS Suzuki. Michael Dunlop was already a retirement at Joeys.

Lap 2
McGuinness toured through Glen Helen with a dead motor, caused by some kind of electrical problem. And Cummins crashed at the Verandah

 That left Hutchinson firmly in control of the race and what had been a race of nip and tuck among the leading group had suddenly turned into a draw-out affair with his 27.41s lead over Amor who in turn was 38.19s from Farquhar’s KMR Kawasaki and 50s from Anstey.  

Lap 3
Amor pegged the gap back to 21.22s by the end of the third lap, with Farquhar, Anstey, Ian Lougher on and Michael Rutter on the Bathams/SMT Honda.

Lap 4
Amor’s run ended when his engine failed on the run to Glen Helen and he parked up and walked over to join McGuinness on the sidelines

 The final lap was thankfully free of any dramas and Hutchinson made it five in a week, winning the Senior TT by 39.56s from Farquhar.

Anstey salvaged something for the Relentless team with third place  while Ian Lougher showed there’s still plenty of life in the old war horse but finishing fourth.

Rutter was fifth from Dan Stewart and Adrian Archibald, Dan Kneen, Davy Morgan and James McBride completed the top ten.