2009 Isle of Man TT - TT Race Week 2009 - Supersport Junior TT Race 1

Supersport Junior TT Race 1

With the delayed Superbike and Sidecar Race 'A' the race to be held on Monday were moved to Tuesday 9 June 2009 with an amended race schedule with the first race being held was the 4 lap (150.73 mile) Supersport Race 1. The pole time for the Supersport race was set by Michael Dunlop at an average speed of 126.299 mph. In what was considered to be a highly contested race it was the unfortunate Michael Dunlop that was the first retirement on lap 1 at Snugbrough near the 2nd Milestone. Despite only setting fifth fastest in practice it was Bruce Anstey riding a 600 cc Suzuki that led at the official timing point at Glen Helen by 1.73 seconds from the 600 cc Honda of Guy Martin with Ian Hutchinson just 0.5 second behind in third place also riding a Honda motorcycle. A further gaggle of riders covered by five seconds included the Honda of John McGuinness in fourth place followed by the Kawasaki of Conor Cummins then Keith Amor with the 600 cc Yamaha of Ian Lougher in seventh place at Glen Helen on lap 1. The places were reversed at the Ramsey Hairpin on lap 1 with Guy Martin now leading Bruce Anstey by 0.3 seconds. The first lap of the Supersport Race 1 was completed by Guy Martin in 18 minutes and 3.37 seconds at an average speed of 125.375 and Ian Hutchinson passed Bruce Anstey for second place on the Mountain Section of the course on corrected time.

In third place at the beginning of lap 2, Bruce Anstey increased his pace passing Ian Hutchinson on corrected time and closed the gap to 0.46 seconds from the leader Guy Martin at Ballaugh Bridge. At the Ramsey Hairpin on lap 2, Bruce Anstey was now leading by 3.35 seconds and the New Zealander shattered the lap record with a lap of 17 minutes and 53.32 seconds an average speed of 126.549 mph and was now leading by 6.86 seconds. After the pit-stops at the end of lap 2 it was Ian Hutchinson that moved into second place leading Guy Martin by 0.3 seconds in third place followed by the Honda riders of McGuinness, Keith Amor and Steve Plater. The pace continued by Bruce Anstey on the third lap with a slightly increased lead of 8.63 seconds and a lap with an average speed of 120.660 mph and increasing the lead to 10.55 seconds at the official timing point at Ballaugh Bridge on lap four. Maintaining his lead at the Ramsey Hairpin on the last lap, it dropped to 7.14 seconds at the Bungalow the 600 cc Suzuki of Bruce Anstey was beginning to slow and was forced to retire at Brandywell with a broken wire leading to an amplifier. This elevated Ian Hutchinson to first place and winning the 2009 Supersport Race 1 in 1 hour, 12 minutes and 56.58 seconds at an average race speed of 121.141 mph. The racing had been close and the winner Ian Hutchinson said;- "Bruce and I were touching fairings going into the Gooseneck. It was enjoyable but frustrating...." In second place was Guy Martin completing the race with a blown head gasket and mentioned that;- "Conditions were nearly 100% but there wasn't the grip there was on Monday. We're chipping away at it. I'm just pleased to finish second. After having trouble with the bike on lap 2, I was looking for a decent pub to pull up at." The third place went to the 600 cc Honda of Keith Amor after a previous third place in the 2008 Supersport Race 1 was handed to him after a technical enfridgment following the exclusion of Bruce Anstey motorcycle and Amor said with this in mind that;- "It's a nice feeling to be finally stepping up onto the podium, though it was hard work. At times we were almost touching, it was so close but I was determined to hang in for third."