Monday September 14, 2015 at 4:06pm
After a damp start during which practice and qualifying took place the racing programme got away with the first leg of the David Jefferies Cup.
As the grid formed up the sun obligingly came out!
Daley Mathison took the hole-shot into Mere Hairpin, but it was Ivan Lintin who led the freight train, followed by Lee Johnston, Daniel Hegarty and Mark Goodings.
Tom Weeden and Daley Mathison both slid off in separate incidents – ok.
Lap 2 it was Johnston in the lead by 1.507 seconds with Hegarty third.
Lap 3 it was still in front by 2.2 seconds, as Cowton moved up to 5th and Bellers-Smith to 6th.
Half distance the gap had extended to 3.109 seconds.
Lintin pulled back half-a-second on the next lap, but a lap later the lead had extended again to 3.9 seconds, as William Dunlop moved into 6th spot.
The end of the penultimate lap the advantage was up to 4.2 seconds with Hegarty maintaining a safe third.
At the chequered flag it was Lee Johnston from Ivan Lintin, with Daniel Hegarty, Mark Goodings, James Cowton and William Dunlop.
The Lee Pullan Trophy 1st leg was next for 650cc Supertwins. James Cowton initially got the hole-shot but Ivan Lintin was first away from the Mere Hairpin and was leading at the end of the first lap of eight. Dan Cooper was second and James Cowton third. Lap two saw Lintin with a 5 second lead.
Another half a second was added to the lead by the end of the third lap.
After five laps with the rain really falling the chequered flag was shown and a race result declared as Ivan Linton took the race win from Dan Cooper and James Cowton.
After a break while a thunderstorm passed over and the sun returned to dry out the course, it was the turn of the Sidecars for their first appearance of the day.
Ian & Carl Bell got the hole-shot and lead out of Mere Hairpin, but Tim Reeves and Patrick Farrance led the pack from the Bells with Conrad Harrison and Lee Patterson third.
Lap two saw the lead increase from 1.3 seconds to 1.8 seconds. At half distance the lead had been reduced by 0.3 of a second, then a lap later the advantage had widened to 3.975 seconds. Lap 5 and the gap had widened further to 5.176 seconds with third place some 18 seconds back.
At the chequered flag it was Reeves/Farrance from The Bells and Harrison/Patterson.
The next race was the first leg of the Cock o’the North Darran Lindsay Trophy race saw Lee Johnston leading at the end of the opening lap of six, followed by Daley Mathison and Dean Harrison.
The gap was 1.2 seconds at the end of the second lap, as Ivan Lintin moved into fourth.
The end of lap 3 saw the lead down to 0.210 of a second but it was Harrison now in second, demoting Mathison to third.
Lap four and Harrison was in front by 1.3 seconds from Johnston with Mathison another 1.8 seconds adrift.
Lap 5 Harrison was still in front, but it was now Lintin in second 3.2 seconds down and at the flag it was Harrison from Johnston and Mathison. As Lintin retires with an machine problem.
The B Final of the Cock o’the North Darran Lindsay Trophy followed was won by James Hinchliffe, from Dan Cooper and Frank Gallagher.
The second sidecar race was won by Tim Reeves and Patrick Farrance from Ian and Carl Bell and Conrad Harrison and Lee Patterson.
The first leg of the Phil Mellor Trophy Race was next on the programme which was won by Alistair Haworth.
The penultimate race of the day, the Classic F1 was won by Jamie Coward from Ryan Farquhar and David Bell.
The final race of the day saw Dean Harrison take the chequered flag from Ivan Lintin and John McGuinness.