TT 1999
TT 1999 turned out to be a record-breaking year with absolute solo and sidecar lap records broken.
There was a dramatic start to the week in the Formula One Race - half the field had been sent away when the red flag was shown - Paul Orritt had crashed heavily at the bottom of Bray Hill. He escaped serious injury, but his machine was in the middle of the road.
The riders who had got through continued for the remainder of the lap and, after a delay, the race was restarted, but reduced to four laps. Joey Dunlop opened with a lap at 121.81mph to lead Iain Duffus by 3.1 seconds with Ian Lougher in third place. David Jefferies, James Courtney and Phillip McCallen completed the top six.
Joey still led at half distance - by 2.8 seconds - but from David Jefferies, with Courtney now third. McCallen retired at the pits. The lead changed after three laps - Jefferies led Dunlop by 14 seconds - the rest of the leader board remained the same.
David Jefferies won his first TT Race at the fastest-ever average speed recorded for a race - 121.35mph - by 15.8 seconds from Joey Dunlop, who recorded his fastest ever lap at 123.06mph, with Iain Duffus taking the final podium place in third.
The Singles TT was won for the third year in succession by BMW-mounted David Morris, who led from the drop of the flag. He was followed home by Bill Swallow and Rich Hawkins.
The Ultra Lightweight race, run concurrently with the Singles race, was another start to finish victory, this time for Ian Lougher. Joey Dunlop had real problems on the opening lap, stopping at Ballacraine for adjustments, and was in 41st and last position at 88.53mph.
Ulstermen Owen McNally and Gary Dynes filled the remaining podium positions at the end of the race. Meanwhile, Joey had cleared his problems and set the fastest lap of the race on the last lap at 109.12mph to finish 27th.
Run concurrently with the Lightweight 250cc race, but for the first time a race in its own right, the Lightweight 400cc became a two-man battle between the riders who had won the 400cc class of the Lightweight the two previous years. The 1997 winner Nigel Piercy led the 1998 winner Paul Williams by 1.6 seconds with Bill Swallow third.
At half distance Williams had taken over at the front from Piercy by five seconds. Lap three saw William 41.2 seconds up on Piercy with Swallow still third. Paul Williams won his first TT 'proper' by over a minute from Nigel Piercy as Geoff McMullan and Nick Jefferies tied for third place.
The Lightweight 250cc TT gave John McGuinness a record-breaking first TT win on his 250 Vimto Honda, leading throughout the four laps. Jason Griffiths took second with Gavin Lee filling third spot.
Jim Moodie stamped his authority on the Junior TT from the drop of the flag. On his Honda UK 600 machine he opened with a lap at 119.58mph to lead fellow Scot Iain Duffus by 15.4 seconds, with Jason Griffiths third on the P J O'Kane Yamaha. Jim Moodie won by 18.4 seconds and David Jefferies with the fastest lap of the race at 119.82mph shot up to second place ahead of Iain Duffus.
The Production TT turned into a Yamaha R1 battle as lap and race record were set. Iain Duffus led David Jefferies at the end of lap one by just 0.9 seconds with Phillip McCallen (now Yamaha-mounted) third. Duffus set a new lap record second time around at 121.32mph to lead Jefferies by 27.2 seconds, Griffiths taking third place from McCallen.
The Iain Duffus charge to victory ended at Cronk-ny-Mona on the final lap, leaving David Jefferies to take the chequered flag at a record 119.50mph by 25.7 seconds from Jason Griffiths with Phillip McCallen in third place. The 750 class winner was Steve Dey.
Dave Molyneux, with Craig Hallam in the chair, on the Bullock DMR Honda led the Sidecar Race A from start to finish and shattered the lap and race records in the process to win from Rob Fisher and Rick Long and Tom Hanks and Steve Wilson.
The Sidecar B Race appeared to be following the pattern of the first race, when Dave Molyneux opened with a lap at 111.48mph to lead Fisher by 35.1 seconds. Next time round the lead had increased to 71.8 seconds, then on the last lap the announcement was made that Moly had retired at Handleys Corner with machine problems. Rob Fisher won at 108.76mph with Ian Bell and Neil Carpenter second and Greg Lambert with Leigh Aubrey third.
The last Senior TT of the century started with a bang when Jim Moodie, on his Honda UK RC45, smashed the seven-year-old absolute lap record from a standing start in 18 m 11.4 s - 124.45mph - to lead David Jefferies on the V&M R1 Yamaha by 8.1 seconds, with Joey Dunlop in third place on his RC45.
Jim Moodie's race only lasted to Ballig Bridge on lap two when he retired with a shredded rear tyre. Jefferies, with a second lap at 123.69mph, took over the lead from Dunlop, with Dunlop slotting into third.
At half distance the leader board read - Jefferies, Lougher, Nigel Davies, Dunlop, Duffus and McGuinness. Changes, except at the front, on lap four - Jefferies led from Duffus, Dunlop and Griffiths. Lap five saw Jefferies leading by almost a minute from Lougher who was followed by Duffus, Davies, Dunlop and Griffiths.
David Jefferies joined the elite band of riders to win three TT Races in a week, as he crossed the line with arm raised in victory, a gesture that possibly cost him the new race record for the Senior, he was just 0.2 seconds outside it. Iain Duffus and Ian Lougher completed the top three, with Nigel Davies, Joey Dunlop and Jason Griffiths taking the remaining leader board places.