Southern 100: Jamie Coward edges out Rob Hodson for record-breaking victory in Supertwin opener

The race was carried over from Tuesday due to rain but went ahead in glorious weather around the 4.25-mile Billown course on Wednesday evening, when both the lap and race records were shattered.

Coward (KTS/Steadplan Kawasaki) and Hodson (Dafabet Kawasaki) swapped places throughout, but it was Yorkshire’s Coward who edged ahead on the last lap to take victory by 1.181s.

Magherafelt man Paul Jordan claimed third place on the Prez Kawasaki, 16.5s behind.

Coward first shattered the lap record on lap four at 104.936mph, but it was Hodson who had the consolation of establishing a new benchmark for the class at 105.998mph on the penultimate lap. The race record went to Coward in a time of 14m 45.469s.

Hodson shot into the lead from pole man Coward and at the end of the first lap, his advantage was only 0.036s as they flashed over the line, with Jordan 2.85s further back.

Coward hit the front on the second lap when they reached Cross Four Ways but Hodson was tucked in right behind, while Jordan was slipping back in third.

The pendulum swung again with Hodson back ahead at the end the of the lap by half-a-second, while Jordan was now five seconds behind.

At half-distance, Coward led Hodson by a mere 0.084s after three laps. Jordan was now on his own in third with Perry in fourth.

The battle continued to rage at the front, with Coward breaking the late James Cowton’s lap record in the class with a speed of 104.956mph, while Hodson was also under the old benchmark on the fourth lap.

Hodson then raised the bar further with another Supertwin lap record of 105.998mph to open a slight gap of 0.47s at the start of the last lap. Jordan remained in third, 13.7s behind the leader, with Perry safe in fourth.

In a thrilling finish, Coward gained the upper hand on the final lap and took the flag to win by 1.181s from Hodson, with Jordan on the rostrum in third, 16.5s adrift. Perry finished fourth with Barry Furber and Marc Colvin the top six.