Klaus Klaffenbock and Daniel Sayle made it three wins in a row when they took victory in the Isle of Man Sidecar TT Race One on Saturday, shattering the dreams of Mellor speedster John Holden by just 10 seconds.
The Austrian/Manx pairing took the lead at Glen Helen on the opening lap and were never headed, catching Holden and his passenger Andy Winkle on the road and circulating together in high speed formation.
Lapping at just under 115mph, the pairing were well clear of the rest of the field with Conrad Harrison and Mike Aylott overhauling Tim Reeves and Gregory Cluze on the final lap for third.
Klaffenbock and Sayle got off to a flying start to lead at Glen Helen on the opening lap but it was close with Holden and Winkle only one second adrift.
Harrison was four seconds further back in third, only one second ahead of Reeves while Tony Elmer/Darren Marshall were up into fifth slightly ahead of Gary Bryan/Jamie Winn.
It was the same order at Ramsey Hairpin but Klaffenbock’s lead was now up to 5.7 seconds as he had Holden firmly in his sights on the road and, indeed, by the end of the first lap, they were leading both on time and on the road.
Having taken the lead on the road, former World Champion Klaffenbock could afford to sit with Holden for the rest of the race and on the second lap the duo treated to the fans to a high speed duel on the roads as they swapped positions on a number of occasions. The lead was always around the 10 second mark for Klaffenbock and his second lap was 114.798mph although Holden was slightly quicker at 114.861mph as they lapped nose to tail.
Holden will aim for instant revenge in the second Sidecar TT on Wednesday.
Meanwhile Morecambe legend John McGuinness won his 16th TT when he took victory in the Superbike race.
McGuinness, the greatest modern day rider, overcame an early challenge from Bruce Anstey and a strong pit stop at the end of lap two saw him reassert himself. When the Kiwi went out at Quarry Bends, McGuinness was already 20 seconds clear of the field. With Guy Martin retiring on lap five, McGuinness’ eventual winning margin was almost a minute over Cameron Donald who came through to take second, some 10 seconds clear of Gary Johnson who took third despite suffering a 30-second penalty for infringing the pit lane speed limit.
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