TT 2019: Conor Cummins tops Superbike times as Sunday qualifying goes ahead

Conor Cummins set the Superbike pace at the Isle of Man TT on Sunday as qualifying went ahead for the first time since last Tuesday.
By Kyle White
Published 2nd Jun 2019, 19:19 BST
Conor Cummins topped the Superbike times at the Isle of Man TT as qualifying went ahead on Sunday after a series of frustrating cancellations. Picture: Dave Kneen/Pacemaker Press.Conor Cummins topped the Superbike times at the Isle of Man TT as qualifying went ahead on Sunday after a series of frustrating cancellations. Picture: Dave Kneen/Pacemaker Press.
Conor Cummins topped the Superbike times at the Isle of Man TT as qualifying went ahead on Sunday after a series of frustrating cancellations. Picture: Dave Kneen/Pacemaker Press.

The Milenco by Padgett’s Honda rider did two laps on his CBR1000RR Fireblade, posting a fastest speed of 128.92mph. Times were down from the previous session as a result of damp patches around the Mountain Course and high winds.

Dean Harrison was five seconds slower on his Silicone Engineering Racing Kawasaki at 128.29mph, although the Bradford rider’s Tuesday lap time of 129.53mph remains the quickest overall so far.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Tyco BMW’s Michael Dunlop stopped at the Mountain Box on his opening lap and was stranded for the remainder of the afternoon, with the 30-year-old missing out on the chance for some valuable track time as a result.

Honda Racing’s David Johnson slotted into third on the Sunday time sheets at 128.24mph ahead of Michael Rutter on the Bathams/Aspire-Ho Honda RCV (127.55mph).

Hampshire rider James Hillier was sixth on the Quattro Plant/Wicked Coatings Kawasaki at 125.36mph as he completed one lap on his Superbike machine.

Outright lap record holder Peter Hickman completed his first Superbike qualifying laps of practice week, setting his fastest lap at 125.04mph to end the session in seventh place ahead of Sam West (124.96mph).

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Norton rider John McGuinness managed three laps on the SG8 machine, the quickest of which was 124.72mph, leaving him ninth fastest.

Hickman showed his pace with a lap of 128.50mph to lead the Superstock times. The two-time TT winner looked on course for a potential 130mph lap until he slowed on the run over the Mountain due to the strong winds.

The Burton-on-Trent man was 11 seconds faster than Cummins, who clocked 127.17mph, while Gary Johnson went third fastest on the RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki (124.97mph).

Hillier was fourth on his Kawasaki at 124.33mph ahead of Rutter, who posted a speed of 123.53mph on the Bathams BMW.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In the Supersport class, Lee Johnston hit the summit with a lap of 122.93mph on his Ashcourt Racing Yamaha from Gary Johnson (122.59mph) and Hillier (122.02mph). Jamie Coward continued to show strong form as he finished fourth fastest on the Prez Racing Yamaha at 121.33mph.

Harrison, whose 126mph lap last Sunday remains the benchmark, did one lap on his 600cc Kawasaki, recording a speed of 121.17mph.

A TT Zero qualifying lap was held, with Michael Rutter lapping at 117.16mph.

In the Sidecar class, John Holden/Lee Cain remained on top with a speed of 114.99mph from Ben and Tom Birchall, who were only fractionally slowed after a lap of 114.93mph.

Related topics:Dean HarrisonJohn McGuinness