2014 Isle of Man TT Monster Energy Supersport 1 TT Results
Due to overnight rain and foggy conditions on the 37.73-mile Snaefell Mountain Course, Monday’s Monster Energy Supersport 1 TT was delayed by three hours.
Not an unusual situation at the Isle of Man TT, this provided riders additional time to mentally prepare for the four-lap Supersport 1 TT.
And one rider who capitalized on the delay was Gary Johnson. The Smiths Triumph pilot had just that little bit extra to take the win by 1.5 seconds ahead of Valvoline Honda’s Bruce Anstey, the man who set a new outright lap record Monday (132.298mph).
Taking the final podium position at the Monster Supersport TT 1 race was MD Racing Honda’s Michael Dunlop, who won the Dainese Superbike TT Monday (Hawk Racing BMW).
When the race got underway, Johnson immediately took the lead. But he would battle with Anstey throughout the TT, the margin constantly fluctuating.
On the final lap, the difference was only 0.011 seconds at Conk ny Mona, but the Lincolnshire Triumph Daytona 675R pilot was able to increase the gap and take victory.
This was Triumph’s first victory since 2003 when Anstey took the Supersport 1 race win. As for Johnson, this was his second TT win; his first arrived in the 2011 Supersport race (Honda).
Due to rain, the Clerk of the Course canceled the Superstock 1 race; it will now be held Tuesday.
Unfortunately, the Supersport race was marred by tragedy when 65-year-old Bob Price died in a single-motorcycle crash at Ballaugh. Read the report here.
Pictures 1-3 by Wayne Freestone
Following is attributed to the official IOM TT race report:
The three podium finishers got off to a great start, as did Martrain Yamaha’s Dean Harrison and Tyco Suzuki’s Guy Martin. These two battled for fourth on the opening lap as W.A. Corless Honda’s Conor Cummins slotted into sixth.
As the lap progressed, Johnson held the lead by the smallest of margins and with an opening lap of 125.766mph, he was 1.6s clear of Anstey as they headed out onto lap two. Dunlop was still in third but had slipped to three seconds behind with Harrison, Cummins and Martin still filling the top six positions.
By Glen Helen second time around, Anstey was ahead for the first time, albeit by only 0.8s, but it was short lived as Johnson again held the lead by Ramsey his lead now 0.7s. Dunlop had also closed in and only 1.5s separated the three riders as they headed up over the Mountain.
Johnson and the Triumph were up and down quickest and he came into the pits with the fastest lap of the race – 126.732mph – and a lead of 2.4s as Dunlop also fell back, 3.7s behind Anstey. As has happened in so many races though, the Valvoline Racing/Padgetts Honda crew turned their man round the quickest and the gap at Glen Helen on the third lap was back down to just a third of a second.
The lead had extended to 3.8s by Ramsey, Johnson again having a great run from Glen Helen, but with a bit of rain falling over the Mountain, Anstey had brought the gap down to 2.8s down as the riders headed out onto their final lap.
Johnson again proved the quickest to Glen Helen, almost doubling his lead, but Anstey was on a charge and the gap continued to fall throughout the lap. Down to 2.3s at Ramsey Hairpin, the two could barely be separated at the Bungalow or Cronk ny Mona but Johnson wasn’t to be denied and he came home for his second TT win, three years after he won the second Supersport race in 2011.
Dunlop was secure in third but the battle for fourth was in doubt for much of the final lap but when Cummins went out at Ginger Hall, it allowed Harrison to take the position. Team-mates William Dunlop and Guy Martin filled fifth and sixth with James Hillier, Lee Johnston, Michael Rutter and Keith Amor completing the top ten.
Ivan Lintin took an excellent 12th place and was the first privateer home, and he’s surged clear in the TT Privateer’s Championship after the two races held so far. James Cowton (18th), none the worse for his spill in Saturday’s Superbike race, and Russ Mountford (19th) were the second and third privateer’s to finish.
