Josh Daley enjoys an excellent Classic TT meeting
Wigan’s Josh Daley enjoyed an excellent two days of racing at the Isle of Man Classic TT over the Bank Holiday weekend when he took the Steadplan Primus Racing machines to superb 12th and 17th positions in the RST Superbike Classic TT and Bennetts Senior Classic TT races respectively.
Riding the 500cc Steadplan Primus Racing Honda, the first race for Josh was Saturday’s four-lap Senior Classic TT race, where preparations weren’t made easy due to inclement conditions around the entire Mountain Course during practice week which saw three out of the six scheduled practice sessions cancelled and one more shortened.
After recording a best lap of 93.08mph on the Thursday evening, conditions were finally good for the race and an opening lap of 97.291mph saw Josh slot into 21st place. Lapping a fraction slower on his second lap of the Mountain Course, at 96.918mph, Josh climbed up the leaderboard to lie in a good 20th place at half race distance.
Despite slipping back to 21st on lap three, the 21-year old saved the best until last and with a final lap of 98.391mph, his quickest of the race, he was rewarded with a fine 17th place at the chequered flag, an excellent effort in his first ever Classic race around the challenging 37.73-mile circuit.
Monday’s Superbike Classic TT race was next up but although it was scheduled to start at 2pm, the weather intervened once more and it was almost 6pm before it finally got underway as organisers patiently waited for the conditions to improve. Despite only completing three laps in practice, his quickest being 111.413mph, Josh was immediately on the pace with an opening lap on the 750cc Steadplan Primus Racing Kawasaki of 113.383mph placing him 22nd.
With good conditions all round, a slightly slower second lap of 112.317mph saw him maintain his position but from that moment on he climbed up the leaderboard. A good pit stop and third lap saw him move up to 15th and despite the light fading as it neared 8pm, a strong final lap of 115.017mph saw him claim an excellent 12th place for his best ever result on the island.
Josh Daley: “I’ve never ridden as hard to do a near 100mph lap as what I did in Saturday’s Senior race! The Classic bikes are certainly hard work compared to the modern ones so to finish 17th first time out was very, very pleasing. They’re hard on the body, especially the knees, and you have to nurse them round all the time, being really careful with gear changes and the like. I stalled the bike at Ramsey Hairpin on the third lap but other than that, I had no issues at all and it was a good four laps.”
“The Superbike race also went perfectly for me so to finish 12th was brilliant. Some oil had been laid down from the 11th Milestone to Handley’s from an earlier parade lap so I had a steady first lap, also keeping an eye out for any damp patches, but after that I pushed on as much as I could. The bike was faultless and with my best lap on the 750cc machine on the final lap, I got a good finish. The weather hasn’t been the greatest this fortnight but I’ve managed 14 laps in total and learnt a lot more. It’s been a very successful meeting for me so a big thank you to the Steadplan Primus Racing team of Sam, John, Dale and Jim for the opportunity to ride their bikes and to all my personal sponsors and supporters for all their help.”
Josh’s next race sees him back on the short circuits as he contests the penultimate round of the 2018 Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship at Oulton Park, Cheshire on September 14-16.
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