Southern 100: Jamie Coward claims pole from Michael Dunlop for Senior race as practice gets under way
Jamie Coward claimed pole position from Michael Dunlop in the Superbike class for the opening Senior race at a damp Southern 100 as practice finally commenced on Tuesday.
Yorkshireman Coward topped the times at the 4.25-mile Billown course on the KTS Racing Honda after four laps at 99.7mph to lead Dunlop (99.513mph) by 0.4s.
Dunlop only managed one flying lap after pulling in at the end of his first lap to change to an intermediate rear tyre on his Hawk Racing Honda.
Dean Harrison (Honda) rounded out the front row with a speed of 98.943mph with Dominic Herbertson in fourth on the Burrows Engineering/RK Racing BMW.
Cork’s Mike Browne was next on the IN Competition Aprilia with a speed of 97.579mph with the top six completed by Ulsterman Paul Jordan (Jackson Racing Honda).
Davey Todd, who won the Solo Championship race for the first time in 2022, was eighth on the Milwaukee BMW with a speed of 95.917mph behind newcomer Erno Kostamo (Penz13 BMW).
Coward was also fastest in the first Lightweight Supertwin practice session by three seconds from Rob Hodson, with Todd and Browne the top four.
Manxman Joe Yeardsley was fifth quickest ahead of Irishman Michael Sweeney, who is making his return to the Southern 100 for the first time since 2022.
Monday’s opening practice sessions were cancelled due to capacity issues at Noble’s Hospital.
The decision followed a lengthy delay after a three-bike incident during the newcomers’ familiarisation laps, which resulted in a red flag situation.