Southern 100: Dream maiden victory for Davey Todd at Billown | Michael Dunlop claims runner-up spot as Dean Harrison retires

The Milenco by Padgett’s Honda rider won the opening race of the 2022 meeting at the 4.25-mile Billown course by 19.2s from Ballymoney’s Michael Dunlop (Buildbase Suzuki), while Manx rider Nathan Harrison was an excellent third on his Honda Fireblade.

Pole man Dean Harrison, who led for the first four laps of the seven-lap race, was a retirement on his DAO Racing Kawasaki.

Todd, competing at the Southern 100 for only the second time after making his debut in 2018, set the fastest lap of the race at 115.165mph.

The Salburn rider is enjoying an exceptional season after claiming a string of podium finishes at the North West 200 and his first Isle of Man TT rostrum in the Superstock race in June.

Yorkshire’s Jamie Coward finished fourth on the KTS/Steadplan Yamaha after a battle with Nathan Harrison, while Michael Sweeney had a solid ride to fifth on his MJR BMW. Ryan Kneen, Rob Hodson and Paul Jordan were the top eight.

The race was delayed after a red-flag incident in the second Sidecar qualifying session on the fifth lap. No official update regarding the incident was provided.

Plans to hold the opening Lightweight Supertwin race were scrapped after rain began falling around the course following the Senior opener.

Earlier, Harrison took pole in the Supersport class on his Kawasaki with a lap of 109.951mph, with Dunlop 0.9s adrift in second on his MD Racing Yamaha (109.233mph).

Coward qualified third quickest at 109.131mph ahead of Todd on Clive Padgett’s Honda, who clocked 108.757mph.

Hodson (Yamaha) and Jordan (PreZ Yamaha) rounded out the top six positions on the grid, with Sweeney in eighth on his Yamaha.

Racing continues on Wednesday evening with the second Senior Superbike race and the first Supersport 600 event. The opening Lightweight Supertwin race is also due to be slotted into the programme. The first Sidecar race and a Supersport B race are also scheduled.