Manx Grand Prix: Lee Johnston wins Senior Classic race for first time

The Fermanagh man was 1.1s down on Italy’s Stefano Bonetti (Paton) after the first of three laps, but Johnston began to up the ante on the Davies Motorsport 500 Yamaha and had moved ahead by eight seconds on the second lap when they reached Ramsey.

The duo were over 22 seconds clear of Dominic Herbertson (Davies Motorsport Yamaha) in third as they set off on the third and final lap.

Bonetti closed the gap to Johnston to 4.3s at Glen Helen and slashed the deficit even further to 3.3s at Ballaugh Bridge, but Johnston had enough in reserve and extended his lead again on the run over the Mountain, sealing victory by 8.2s from Bonetti.

Cork’s Mike Browne finished third on the Peter Grantham Lodge Norton after Herbertson was forced out on the last lap with clutch trouble.

Browne, who won the earlier Lightweight 250 race, was 34 seconds down on runner-up Bonetti, while Yorkshireman Jamie Coward took fourth on the Ted Woof/Craven Manx Norton.

Alan Oversby (Martin Ireland Honda) and Michael Sweeney (CSC Racing/IMS Racing Honda) rounded out the top six.

Race favourite John McGuinness was a non-starter due to engine problems with Roger Winfield’s Paton.

McGuinness was bidding for a third win in a row in the race after back-to-back victories in 2018 and 2019 and had topped the times in practice.