Southern 100: Wednesday's racing cancelled due to inclement weather on Isle of Man
Wednesday’s third evening of racing at the Southern 100 has been cancelled due to inclement weather on the Isle of Man.
After initially announcing a delay, the organisers confirmed their decision to call it quits at 18:30 BST.
An update said: “Unfortunately due to a late very heavy downpour at the Colas Billown Circuit and the current weather forecast for the next few hours, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel the racing this evening.”
The popular event, known as the ‘Friendly Races’, has been decimated this week by a combination of red flag incidents, delays and wet weather.
On the opening evening on Monday, a red flag stoppage occurred minutes after the newcomers’ familiarisation laps began at the 4.25-mile course following an incident involving three riders.
Anthony O’Carroll from Tralee in Co Kerry was critically injured and was taken to a hospital in Liverpool for further treatment.
Northern Ireland’s Aidan Cleary sustained an ankle injury and has been discharged from Noble’s Hospital in Douglas while Jacque Foley from Scarriff in Co Clare was uninjured.
The incident resulted in a lengthy delay before the practice sessions were later cancelled due to “capacity issues” at Noble’s.
On Tuesday, the opening race of the 2024 meeting – the Senior Superbike race – went ahead on damp roads but was red-flagged after the leaders had completed three laps of the scheduled six-lap distance when Aaron Hogan crashed, escaping injury.
A result was declared based on positions after two laps, with Ulsterman Michael Dunlop taking his 22nd Southern 100 win on the Hawk Racing Honda from pole man Jamie Coward and Davey Todd.
Speaking after the Senior race on Tuesday, Dunlop said no blame should be attached to the Southern 100 club should any decisions have to be made to cancel racing because of poor weather.
“The club’s not at fault and if it has to be cancelled, it has to be cancelled,” Dunlop said.
“You can’t blame the club for that; they do a great job and the weather is what it is.”
Shortly afterward the Senior race, conditions began to deteriorate for the first Lightweight Supertwin race but it went ahead over five laps as the rain became heavier.
Wigan’s Rob Hodson emerged victorious on the SMT Paton by 5.6s from Coward, with Todd rounding out the top three on the Dafabet Kawasaki.
A revised schedule has now been put in place for the final day of the meeting on Thursday, when the Solo and Sidecar Championship races top a packed bill.
Dunlop and Dean Harrison have both won the blue riband Superbike race three times while Todd claimed his maiden victory in the headline event in 2022.
Roads are set to close at 09:30 BST with nine races scheduled.
Last year, the Southern 100 was cancelled after Republic of Ireland rider Alan Connor and a 66-year-old race marshal, Liam Clarke – originally from Londonderry – were killed in an incident at the end of a Superbike qualifying session on the second day of the event.