Farquhar tops rain-hit first night

Ryan Farquhar has topped a wet opening day on the Isle of Man, taking the top spot in the Lightweight class despite the rain bringing a premature end to the night’s action.

It was the newcomers who got away first, completing controlled laps behind the marshals under the last of the day’s sunshine, before clouds rolled for the 650cc bikes.

Completing two laps before the rain became too heavy, the Northern Irishman was half a second faster than runner-up Gary Johnson on the WK machine. Third was Ivan Lintin on the RC Express Kawasaki.

Practice resumes on Monday, with superbikes, superstock and supersport bikes getting from 1820 to 1955, while the sidecars, who missed out tonight, out from 2000 to 2050.