TT 2014: Anstey makes most of sunshine to break 130mph

Perfect conditions on the second night of the 2014 Isle of Man TT has again allowed Bruce Anstey and John McGuinness to up the pace, with Anstey setting a highly impressive 130.860mph lap on the Valvoline Padgetts Honda with only a handful of laps completed.

Circulating for most of the night with Padgetts teammate John McGuinness, riding his Honda Racing superbike, McGuinness was almost able to match Anstey with a 129.395mph lap as he continues to dismiss doubts about his wrist injury.

Michael Dunlop was also on impressive form, lapping at 129.032 on his out lap and looking set to break the 131mph barrier until running out of fuel at Governor’s Dip on his second lap and having to push home for the final few hundred metres.

James Hillier topped the superstock class, with an opening lap of 126.243 leaving his 4 seconds clear of Michael Dunlop, while in the supersport class it was Northern Irishman Lee Johnston who topped the sheets with his lap of 123.803, ahead of the Smiths Triumph pair of Gary Johnson and Michael Rutter.

In the lightweight class, North West 200 winner Ivan Lintin was quickest, with the KMR Kawasaki of Keith Amor in second. Amor’s team boss Ryan Farquhar was back in sixth.

It was an impressive night for the newcomers too, with former BSB racer Peter Hickman only just missing out on his first 120mph lap, as he got around the 37.73 mile course in 119.684mph.

In the sidecar session, John Holden and Andy Winkle were just under 10 seconds quicker than the Birchall brothers in second, while mechanical problems saw the outfits of Dave Molyneux and Tim Reeves both fail to complete a lap.

The sidecar session came to a premature end when the red flags came out after an incident at Kerrowmoar. It was later reported that sidecar crew Nev Jones and Milan Vorel were the team involved in the accident; Jones was reported to be OK but Vorel was taken by airmed to Nobles where he was assessed for possible leg fractures.