Martin Jessopp made it two wins on the day late on Thursday evening at the North West 200 with a record-breaking victory in the Supertwins, just getting the better of Michael Rutter by 0.848s.
The Riders Motorcycles Kawasaki rider looked to be heading for a relatively comfortable victory as he led by two seconds at half race distance but Rutter broke the lap record on lap three, the first 110mph by a Supertwin machine, only for Jessopp to break it again on the fourth and final lap to take his second win at the Triangle circuit.
“I saw +6 on my pit board on one lap so rolled off a touch but when I looked behind at University on the third lap, I saw someone behind me,” Jessopp said. “I had another look coming out of the roundabout and saw the old man behind me so after that I upped my pace, hit all my braking points and apexes so to get two wins in a day is mega.”
Jessopp led off the line and by the end of the first lap his advantage over Rutter (IEG/KMR Kawasaki) was already 1.3s whilst a three-rider battle for third was raging between Ivan Lintin, Dan Cooper and Adam McLean. Rutter’s team-mate Lee Johnston was out of luck though, a clutch problem on the warm up lap forcing him out.
At the head of the field, Jessopp was forging clear with his lead almost two seconds after two of the four laps as Cooper moved up to third ahead of Lintin, but third time around Rutter got the magnets on and with a lap of 110.131mph, a new lap record, he was just 0.2s adrift heading into the fourth and final lap.
Try as he could though, he couldn’t get close enough to make a pass and Jessopp had the warning he needed. Both riders broke the lap record again on the final lap, Jessopp at 110.423mph and Rutter at 110.215mph, but it was the West Country man that got the verdict.
Lintin pulled clear in the battle for third to take the final podium place with Cooper in fourth and Derek Sheils taking fifth on the final lap from McLean. James Cowton had a lonely ride into seventh ahead of Christian Elkin, Paul Jordan and Marty Lennon.
