Michael Dunlop and Team Classic Suzuki bounced back into contention for Monday’s Classic Superbike TT when he pulled a lap of 124.92mph out of the bag on his 1216cc XR69 tonight.

Steve Wheatman’s squad appeared to be on the ropes after a week of engine blow-ups had left them mystified and reeling. But Dunlop took over the bike of his team-mate Lee Johnston tonight and blazed around in the second fastest lap of the week, headed only by Bruce Anstey at 125.486mph on the Padgetts Racing Yamaha YZR500.

“It just shows what a brilliant rider Michael is when he can get on someone else’s bike and lap at that speed,” Wheatman said. “We have one lap of qualifying tomorrow which gives us the chance to set the bike up for him. We’re back in the game.”

Crew chief Nathan Colombi and his technicians have worked desperately this week to resolve a plague of difficulties. “We’ve had a lot of unexpected problems with Michael’s bikes, and we’re still not at the bottom of it,” Wheatman said. “His original engine blew, then the spare engine, and then an engine that the York Suzuki team helped us with. We don’t know whether it’s fuel, ignition, or what.”

The team’s decision to put Dunlop on a team-mate’s bike was made simpler when Johnston fell off the platform of an F2 Yamaha sidecar outfit being driven by Dean Harrison while they were frolicking about at Jurby airfield.

Johnston suffered injuries to his right hand which rule him out of hauling the big Suzuki for 151 miles round the Mountain Circuit, but leave him confident about handling Black Eagle Racing’s 350cc MV in the Junior race.

The Classic Suzuki team are also buoyed by performance of their remaining jockey, the lightweight Danny Webb, who proved the speed potential of the bikes by ripping through the Sulby Straight trap at 173.9mph.