Jim Moodie, the flying Scotsman won his seventh TT Trophy yesterday when he powered his Honda machine to the chequered flag in the 600 cc Junior race. Moodie, who came within two seconds of the lap record on his opening lap, managed victory despite facing uphill battles from the start-line.
His clutch broke on the first lap, which meant he had to kick the gears into place. And then he lost his contact lenses on lap three of the four lap race.
David Jeffries pulled out all the stops on the last lap and went from fifth position to second by blasting his Yamaha R6 down the mountain section. His team-mate Iain Duffus gave way to Jeffries's late charge and finished third.
The Ultra Lightweight 125 cc race was won by Welshman Ian Lougher. He was challenged in the early stages of the race by fellow Honda rider, Gary Bennet, but constantly increased his time advantage from two seconds at the end of lap one, to 13 seconds at the flag.
Bennet retired on lap three. Second place fell to Owen McNally from Coleraine. Gary Dynes from Craigavon was third.
It was a disappointing day for TT heroes Joey and Robert Dunlop. Both of them were considered strong contenders in the 125 cc race. Joey's Honda suffered fuel starvation after a breather pipe became blocked. He continued to race after some adjustments in the pits but only managed 27th place.
Younger brother Robert finished in fifth place. Although his Honda ran perfectly Robert has some difficulty controlling the machine which had been specially adapted to injuries he sustained at the circuit in previous years.
Robert used his left hand to control both the clutch and the front brake. "The race was hard work, and a big fight," he said as he limped through the paddock.
Today's races will be the senior and production races.
Junior 600cc TT race (four laps): 1 J Moodie (Honda) 1hr 16mins 39.8secs (118.11mph), 2 D Jefferies (Yamaha) 1:16.58.2, 3 I Duffus (Yamaha) 1:16.59.5, 4 A Archibald (Honda) 1:17.03.8, 5 J Dunlop (Honda) 1:17.13.3, 6 J Griffiths (Yamaha) 1:17.14.2.
Ultra lightweight 125 cc: 1 I Lougher (Honda) 1-24-17.3 at 107.43 mph; 1 O McNally (Honda) 1-24-30.3 at 107.15 mph; 3 G Dynes (HOnda) 1-24-40.1 at 106.94 mph; 4 D Lindsay (Honda) 1-25-07.4 at 106.37 mph; 5 R Dunlop (Honda) 1-25-58.7 at 105.31 mph.
Singles: 1 D Morris (BMW) 1-21-54. 110.56 mph; 2 B Swallow (BRS) 1-24-26.4 at 107.23 mph; 3 R Hawkins (Rotax) 1-27-30.9 at 103.47 mph; 4 D Gallagher (Yamaha) 1-29-14.1 at 101.47 mph; 5 M Jeffreys (Rotax) 1-29.17.5 at 101.41.
