Dave Molyneux & Patrick Farrance - Photo Credit: Simon Patterson/Pacemaker
Dave Molyneux and partner Patrick Farrance moved back to the top of the Sidecar timesheets by setting the fastest lap of the 2012 Isle of Man TT on Thursday evening. The DMR duo became the first go quicker than 113mph, leaving them in provisional pole position with one qualifying session to go.
After rain earlier in the day, there were damp patches around the course and unsurprisingly the lap times were down initially. The riders will have been happy just to get some track time though after the cancellation of Wednesday's session and it was Molyneux who set the pace on his first lap, clocking 112.198mph.
Tim Reeves and Dan Sayle were the pacesetters last time the Sidecars were in action and the newly assembled partnership went second fastest at 111.425mph, just ahead of Conrad Harrison and Mike Aylott with the Birchall brothers fourth on their return to action after crashing on Monday night.
The pace picked up on the second laps and Molyneux completed the mountain course in 19m56.32s at 113.538, extending his lead on the day and moving him ahead of Reeves in the overall classification. The LCR Honda rider's second lap was clocked at 112.218mph, meaning he was still short of the pace he'd shown two days earlier but he had done enough to outpace Gary Bryan and Jamie Winn who'd pipped Harrison and Aylott for third. Ben and Tom Birchall showed no signs of struggling after their crash earlier in the week, setting the fifth fastest time.
Last year's race two winners, John Holden and Andy Winkle have continued to struggle and failed to set a time after stopping at Kirk Michael.
