Michael Dunlop continued his amazing run of form around the Snaefell Mountain Course in 2013 with a record breaking victory in the Motorsport Merchandise Formula 1 Classic TT race.
The Northern Irish racer broke both lap and race records for the classic class, shattering his 2010 record of 118.186mph on the opening lap of the three lap race. Dunlop stormed ahead right from the off, leading Conor Cummins by more than thirty seconds at the end of the first lap.
Cummins managed to hold on for second for the remainder of the race, while Gary Johnson, who was third at the end of the opening lap, dropped down the field, eventually retiring at Crosby, allowing the final podium position to go to Manx rider Ryan Kneen, who ran out of fuel on the return road, showing just how fine the team had cut it in terms of fuel load.
The Formula 2 race saw Chris Palmer lead off from the front, having won the 350cc race earlier in the meeting. The battle for the lead was much closer than that of the Formula 1 race, with Palmer only leading by six seconds over James Cowton at the end of the first lap. The positions were reversed at the end of the second lap, with Cowton pulling out a two second gap on the Manx rider, with Phil McGurk completing the top three.
Palmer responded to Cowton’s second lap in strong form, taking victory by a clear twelve seconds over the the Yorkshire rider, with McGurk consolidating third to round out the podium places.
Dean Harrison and Gavin Lupton provided the entertainment in the Formula Classic race, swapping the lead throughout the entire of the four lap race, culminating in a thrilling final lap which saw Harrison claw back two seconds from Cronk-Ny-Mona to take the victory by just 0.174 seconds, the second closest victory ever on the Mountain Course.
