TT 2014: Anstey fastest as TT14 is go

After Saturday’s rain-hit delayed practice session, almost perfect conditions greeted the first session of the 2014 Isle of Man TT, and saw ultra-fast lap times from the off, as Bruce Anstey went top of the time sheets with a lap averaging 127.473mph.

Anstey was able to squeeze out the Honda Racing machine of John McGuinness, who set a 126.355mph lap, taking the Padgetts Valvoline bike around for three laps and upping the pace on his final lap.

All the top stars got their TT underway, with the Dunlop brothers of Michael and William completing the first laps, Dunlop doing a 125.265 lap on the BMW while William set a time of 122.461 on the Tyco Suzuki superstock machine.

In the sidecar class, it was TT legend Dave Molyneux and passenger Patrick Farrance setting the pace, with the local star making the most of rule changes allowing engine tuning to take his Kawasaki ZX-6 powered machine to a lap of 114.350, some 42 seconds faster than the second placed duo of Tom and Ben Birchall.