Michael Dunlop jumped to the top of the time sheets in Lightweight qualifying at the Classic TT after a 116mph lap on his 250 Honda yesterday.

Dunlop set the fastest time of the week so far in the class at 116.491mph from a standing start, surpassing Dan Sayle’s lap of 115.183mph set earlier in the week.

He was also quickest through the speed trap at Sulby on the MD Racing RS250 Honda at 152.518mph.

The record 33-time Isle of Man TT winner has been beset by bike issues with the 250 in recent years at the Manx Grand Prix, and was leading in 2024 by more than three seconds at the Bungalow before encountering problems, eventually finishing 15th.

placeholder image — Michael Dunlop set the fastest qualifying lap so far in the Lightweight class at the Classic TT on his MD Racing 250 Honda. (Photo by Callum Staley/Pacemaker Press)

The Ballymoney man will be hoping for a trouble-free run in Wednesday’s three-lap race.

“They’re [250cc machines] different from what we’re used to, that’s for sure, but we’ll see,” Dunlop said.

“The 250 is very dependent on the air temperature and all this [stuff], so the main thing is to make sure we don’t go out too late at night – you can go out late at night, but you’ve got to make sure you’re prepared for it.”

Former winner Mike Browne set off on Eddie Laycock’s TZ250 Yamaha but did not complete a timed lap yesterday, with team-mate Ian Lougher also seemingly having an issue on his two-stroke machine after failing to complete his lap.

Michael Sweeney was second quickest behind Dunlop on the CSC Racing Yamaha (113.115mph), 34.795s down on the Ulsterman.

Dunlop is riding the Wiz Norton in the Formula 1 Classic TT but was out of luck yesterday after failing to complete his lap on the 588cc machine.

Yorkshire’s Jamie Coward set the pace on the Greenall Kawasaki 750 at 126.245mph, but Rob Hodson’s lap on Thursday evening of 127.402mph on the SMT by Key Racing Ducati remains the fastest so far – just eight tenths of a second outside Bruce Anstey’s 2017 Classic TT lap record of 127.469mph set on a YZR500 GP Yamaha.

John McGuinness led the Historic Senior times on the Winfield Paton with a lap of 112.167mph, while Manxman Michael Evans was fastest in Historic Junior qualifying yesterday.

Racing gets under way today with the Supertwin (10:15am) and Supersport (1pm) Manx Grand Prix races, plus further Classic TT qualifying.