Michael Rutter won Tuesday afternoon’s three-lap Junior Classic TT race by ten seconds with the Ripley Land Racing Honda rider taking the win for the second time in three years.
He overhauled long time race leader Lee Johnston on the final lap after the Black Eagle MV Agusta rider had to pit for fuel at the end of lap two with Jamie Coward (Ted Woof/Craven Honda) completing the podium.
After crashing at Ballacraine in the Senior Classic race due to a front wheel puncture and then being disqualified from second in the Lightweight race, Rutter was delighted to have taken another Mountain Course victory.
“It’s certainly been a hard week so I’m very happy to have got the bike home! The first lap felt quite slow along the straights but the corner speed is so high and you’re going through them as quick as on anything. I got a few thumbs-up around the course to say I was leading but I just got my head down from the start, ran my own race and made sure I didn’t over-rev it.”
“I had a good battle on the road with Jamie and got a tow here and there and the bike ran perfectly. Conditions were a bit dodgy on the first lap as there were quite a lot of damp patches but it did improve and I’m delighted for the team.”
Through Glen Helen on the opening lap and it was Johnston who led by 2.7s from Coward with Rutter just 0.3s behind in third. Hefyn Owen slotted into fourth ahead of Dean Harrison and Dean Herbertson but one of the fancied runners, Alan Oversby, had made a stop at Quarter Bridge and was outside the top thirty on the Davies Motorsport Honda.
By Ramsey, Johnston had extended his lead over Coward to 8.7s and he in turn now had a gap of one second over Rutter. Harrison and Herbertson had moved up to fourth and fifth, the former only two seconds behind Rutter, with Owen now in sixth.
A first lap speed of 102.523mph gave Johnston a healthy 13.5s lead but it was Rutter who was now in second, the Midlands rider turning his one second deficit into a 4.7s advantage over Coward. Harrison was still well in touch with the duo in fourth, although he had to pit for fuel, as Herbertson maintained his fifth place but Oversby had now hauled himself all the way up to sixth.
Second time at Glen Helen and Johnston’s lead had increased to 20.7s but although Rutter was still in second, Coward had brought the gap down to 1.8s. Herbertson had moved up to fourth with Harrison’s pit stop seeing him now occupy sixth. Oversby remained in sixth.
Johnston was pressing on at the head of the field with a 25s lead through Ballaugh but the battle for second continued to rage as Coward got back ahead of Rutter albeit by just a second. The Northern Irishman added another two seconds to his lead on the run to Ramsey Hairpin and it was Rutter who was now back in second, 3.7s clear of Coward.
Johnston’s second lap was quicker at 103.421mph and it saw his lead over Rutter remain at 25s although a pit stop for fuel of 39s meant it would all come down to the final lap. Rutter’s lap of 102.525mph gave him a 12s lead over Coward with Herbertson, Harrison and Oversby continuing in the top six.
Through Glen Helen for the third and final time and it was Rutter who was in the lead, some 12.6s clear of Johnston and the race was very much on. But whilst many expected the three cylinder MV Agusta to have the legs on the Honda, the gap barely came down between the timing points and at Ramsey Hairpin, Rutter still led by 11.4s.
However, by the Bungalow Johnston had taken a large chunk of time out of Rutter with the gap down to seven seconds but the wily veteran wasn’t to be denied and a final lap of 104.002mph, the fastest lap of the race, gave him a 10s victory with Johnston in second and Coward in third.
Herbertson held onto fourth with Oversby overhauling Harrison on the final lap to claim fifth with Chris Swallow, McGurk, Owen and Jason Markham completing the top ten.
