HODSON NEARS RECORD WHILST MCGUINNESS TOPS HISTORIC SENIOR QUALIFYING
The second qualifying session for this year’s Classic TT saw perfect weather conditions all around the Mountain Course on Thursday evening, and 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, with Adam McLean setting the pace in the Lightweights and Michael Sweeney 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 just eight tenths of a second outside Bruce Anstey’s lap record of 127.496mph set in 2017.
Rob Hodson is close to record pace.
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, it was Nathan Harrison who 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, before Hodson took to the course.
Kawasaki-mounted Julian Trummer, Craig Neve and Brian McCormack were soon on their way, as were Davo Johnson and Ian Hutchinson, but 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, and it was Harrison who 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, as did Michael Dunlop with a lap of 120.588mph on the Norton – a marked improvement from the previous night.
Michael Evans broke the 120mph barrier, along with a host of other racers.
Second time around, Hodson’s pace jumped up to a superb 127.402mph, while 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, with the top six 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 but 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 – the quickest of the week so far. Jordan (102.522mph) and Yeardsley (102.430mph) weren’t far behind, with Dean Harrison (99.787mph), Alan Oversby (97.594mph) and Maurizio Bottalico (97.070mph) completing the top six. Harrison was on course for a 103mph lap before stopping at Glen Duff on his second circuit.
Adam McLean set the pace in the Lightweights.
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, followed by Rhys Hardisty (111.467mph) and Chris Moore (109.992mph) on their Yamaha TZs. The top six was rounded out by Owen Monaghan, again the fastest 400cc rider, with an improved speed of 109.343mph.
