Glorious weather for first session of the 2009 TT
Glorious conditions greeted competitors for the opening practice session of the 2009 Isle of Man TT on Saturday evening.
The Newcomers were due out first, for their Controlled Lap, but the start had to be delayed because of cattle near the course at Ballacrye.
Shortly before 7pm, TT winner Richard ‘Milky’ Quayle led the newcomers away from the TT Grandstand in Douglas.
The Controlled Lap was followed by the first practice session for solo machines, which, as ever for the opening practice, was untimed.
Gary Johnson and Ian Hutchinson were first away, and as the solo riders made their way out, the pit lane started to fill with sidecar outfits, ready for their first practice session after completing technical inspection.
Johnson was the first tom complete a lap, coming into the pits at the end of his circuit. Next through was Ryan Farquhar, still on a high after winning a record-breaking 18 wins from 18 starts at the previous weekend’s road racing at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough.
At 8.20pm, Nick Crowe’s sidecar outfit left the Grandstand for the untimed session. He was followed by fellow Manxman Dave Molyneux and three-times World Champion Tim Reeves.
With the sidecar outfits giving it their all, four solo riders had to be black-flagged at Ramsey because the chairs were catching them.
Moly was first to complete a lap, and continued straight through.
At the end of the sidecar session, the chequered flag brought the first practice to a close.
The next practice session is scheduled for Monday evening. Visit our Race Calendar page for full details of the practice and race schedule for TT 2009.