EVANS EDGES CLOSER TO HISTORIC JUNIOR LAP RECORD PACE
Good conditions again greeted the Classic TT competitors on Friday afternoon, with Michael Evans producing the standout performance in the Historic Junior class. The Manxman came within six seconds of the lap record, setting a speed of 104.760mph on the Ken Rutter Racing Honda.
In the Formula 1 Classic session Jamie Coward was again quickest, the Greenall Racing Kawasaki rider lapping at 126.245mph, while Michael Dunlop MBE and John McGuinness MBE led the way in the Lightweight and Historic Senior categories with laps of 116.491mph and 112.167mph respectively.

The Greenall Racing Kawasaki rider lapped at 126.245mph.
The session got underway on time at 1.00pm with the Formula 1 machines given an extended 1hr 40-minute run. It was Julian Trummer (TC Racing/DP Coldplaning Kawasaki) who led the field away, followed by Nathan Harrison (Greenall Racing Kawasaki), Ian Hutchinson (Steadplan Racing Kawasaki), Joe Yeardsley (Mistral Racing Kawasaki), Coward, Evans (Good with Wood Racing Suzuki) and Dunlop (WizNorton Racing).
Team-mates Harrison and Coward set the early pace, but Harrison began to lose ground and instead it was Coward and Hutchinson disputing the top spot on the opening lap. Hutchinson edged it by just a tenth of a second, his 124.555mph lap narrowly quicker than Coward’s 124.534mph. Dominic Herbertson (124.248mph), Paul Jordan (124.035mph), Craig Neve (123.307mph) and Harrison (122.911mph) completed the early top six.
David Johnson (122.885mph), Evans (122.097mph), Brian McCormack (121.849mph) and Trummer (121.820mph) were also showing strong pace as many riders pitted after their opening laps. Coward, Hutchinson and Herbertson pressed on, although Herbertson lost two minutes on the second run to Glen Helen. He quickly regained speed, but it was Coward who set the standout lap, improving to 126.245mph - almost identical to his best the previous day.
Hutchinson improved slightly to 124.670mph, while Trummer (121.820mph), Barry Furber (121.710mph), Sam West (119.327mph), Horst Saiger (119.297mph), Amalric Blanc (118.603mph) and Paul Williams (118.566mph) all recorded their best laps of the week. Williams managed four laps in the session, his third effort of 119.771mph elevating him to 12th on the leaderboard.
At 2.50pm, the Historic Senior, Historic Junior and Lightweight machines took to the course. In the Senior, McGuinness again led the way, opening with a 110.716mph lap before improving to 112.167mph, the fastest of the session and of the week so far in the category. Team-mate Ian Lougher initially slotted into second with a 107.242mph lap, but was later pushed to third by Yeardsley, who lapped at 109.002mph on the Flitwick Motorcycles Royal Enfield. Furber (106.444mph), Alan Oversby (106.092mph) and Dan Sayle (105.547mph) rounded out the top six.

McGuinness improved to 112.167mph, the fastest of the session and of the week so far in the category
The Historic Junior class belonged to Evans. Quickest on Thursday, he again impressed despite a small misfire, clocking 104.760mph - just six seconds shy of Lee Johnston’s lap record of 105.239mph set in 2014. Behind him, Paul Jordan (Davies Motorsport Honda) and Jamie Coward (Craven Classic Racing/Ted Woof Honda) enjoyed strong runs, posting 103.218mph and 102.919mph respectively. Joe Yeardsley (101.895mph) was the fourth rider to surpass the 100mph mark, with Harley Rushton (99.164mph) and Will Loder (98.647mph) close behind.
The concurrently run Lightweight session saw Dunlop head out first, and his single lap of 116.491mph proved untouchable. He was more than thirty seconds clear of second-placed Michael Sweeney (113.115mph), while Stuart Hall (112.079mph) and Chris Moore (109.827mph) followed in third and fourth. They were chased by the three fastest 400cc competitors - Paul Cassidy (109.640mph), Craig Neve (109.562mph) and Owen Monaghan (109.325mph).

Dunlop headed out first, and his single lap of 116.491mph proved untouchable.