Dan Kneen joins 130 club in Senior TT
Dan Kneen ensured the 2015 Isle of Man TT Races ended on a high note when he finished in 13th place and recorded his first ever 130mph lap of the Mountain Course in Friday’s Senior race. It meant the Manxman had a 100% finishing record on the Valvoline Racing by Padgetts Honda’s with three top ten finishes taken.
With the original race being halted after one and a half laps due to an incident, the Senior was re-started over the shorter distance of four laps and a strong opening lap of 128.997mph placed the Braddan rider in 13th place. Having overhauled Ryan Farquhar on the road, a slightly quicker lap second time around of 129.165mph allowed him to move up to 12th place.
With another good pit stop by the team, Dan was able to maintain his position but the gaps between the riders were all close with no less than 11 having broken the 130mph barrier on that second lap. The 27-year old was pushed back a place by the end of lap three and he completed the four laps in 13th place but the fourth lap saw him lap at exactly 130mph to join the exclusive list of riders that have achieved such a feat.
In his first year with the team, the result ensured Dan finished all five of his races inside the top 13 with seventh in the opening Superbike race being his best result. He also recorded his best ever lap in each of the Superbike, Superstock and Supersport classes.
Dan Kneen: “Obviously I’d like to have finished higher than 13th but I’m delighted to finally have lapped at 130mph. It’s amazing that we’re lapping at those speeds but not finishing in the top ten but it’s been an incredible pace this year. It took me a while to get going in the race and particularly to shake off Ryan. I caught him half way round the first lap but I couldn’t shake him off and it broke my rhythm a bit.”
“I managed to get going a bit more in the second half of the race and although I felt I could have finished higher than 13th, it was another finish and I got into the 130s at last. It’s been a solid TT but I think I was just missing a little bit of track time as the Hondas are all new to me and it’s been a case of building and building each time I’ve gone out. The bikes have been faultless and whilst I’d have liked a little bit more from myself in terms of race results, I’ve finished every race so I’ve got to be happy. I’ve also done my best ever lap in every class so a big thanks to the whole team for being 100% behind me the whole time.”
Dan’s next meeting will hopefully be the Southern 100 road races, which take place from July 6-9.