TT Practice Week 2009
The first practice session for 2009 Isle of Man TT races featured an evening untimed practice session and newcomers control lap on Saturday 30 May 2009 held in almost perfect weather conditions. The first practice session suffered a 40 minute delay due to livestock too close to the course at Ballacrye Corner near Ballaugh. The Newcomers Control Lap was led away from the TT Grandstand by the TT Travelling Marshals and a steady pace set by the accompanying experienced Isle of Man TT competitors including former TT winner and rider's lasion officer Richard Quayle and former Manx Grand Prix winners Nigel Beattie and Paul Duckett. The newcomers control group included a number of new competitors from the United States, Marc Fissette from Belgium, Luis Carreira from Portugal and the Japanese rider Yoshinari Matsushita. The newcomers control group also included one female competitor, Jenny Tinmouth, and a number of outfits for the Sidecar TT accompanied by experienced TT sidecar competitors Roy Hanks/Dave Wells and Tony Baker/Fiona Baker-Milligan. The first competitor away from the TT Grandstand in the main solo class for the first untimed practice session was the Gary Johnson riding a 1000 cc Honda and the 2008 Senior TT winner John McGuinness also riding a 1000 cc Honda set an unofficial lap at an average speed of 125 mph on the Snaefell Mountain Course. After suffering a minor oil leak and completing only two laps, McGuinness stated, "I'm glad to get that one out of the way. The first two laps settled me. I've had butterflies in my stomach all day. I was a bit nervous." The new Norton motorcycle entry ridden by Michael Dunlop suffered mechanical problems and stopped at Glen Helen on the first lap of practice for the motorcycle as did the LCR 600 cc Honda outfit of former TT sidecar winner Nick Crowe/Mark Cox near the 2nd Milestone. The 2009 TT newcomer Scott Jensen from Colorado slipped off at Union Mills and Steve McDonald at Braddan Bridge and both were taken to Nobles Hospital to be later released after a medical check-up.
Practice at the 2009 Isle of Man TT races continued on Monday 1 June 2009 with a 40 minute delay to reorganise TT Marshals on the Mountain Section of the Snaefell Mountain Course. The German TT newcomer, Rico Penzofer and triple 2008 Manx Grand Prix winner Dan Kneen completed their control-lap before the start of main evening practice session. The winner of the 2007 Supersport TT Race, Ian Hutchinson pulled in at Ballacraine on the first lap of Monday practice and John McGuinness recorded a lap of 124.35 mph after a broken gear-lever on the high speed Crosby section left his Honda motorcycle jammed in 6th gear. The 2009 Sidecar TT winner Nick Crowe/Mark Cox again failed to record a time on Monday practice after continuing problems with the engine ignition system. The evening practice for Tuesday 2 June 2009 was held in slightly cooler weather conditions and the problems for the first two sessions of glaring sun and flies were reduced for competitors. It was again McGuinness that dominated practice in the Superbike class with a lap of 17 minutes 27.56 seconds an average speed of 129.661 mph. The sidecar TT class was led by Nick Crowe/Mark Cox with a lap of 19 minutes 39.43 seconds an average speed of 114.697 mph. The Suzuki sidecar outfit of Tim Reeves/Patrick Farrance stopped at Keppel Gate on Monday evening practice with a blocked fuel lift pump and then stopped again on Tuesday evening practice at Sulby crossroads with a snapped throttle cable, although completing the lap after borrowing a new cable from a local lawnmower dealer. The American Isle of Man TT newcomer James Vanderhaar slipped-off at Sulby Bridge and Roger Maher hit the bales at Glen Helen. The 600 cc LCR Honda sidecar outfit of David Wallis/Sally Wilson crashed at the 13th Milestone and the crew evacuated by the Medical Helicopter to Nobles Hospital.
The Wednesday evening practice session was again dominated by John McGuinness riding a 1000 cc in the Superbike class, unofficially breaking the lap record with a time of 17 minutes and 23.46 seconds an average speed of 130.171 mph. This was only the second lap at an average speed exceeding 130 mph and was completed after a heavy landing at Ballaugh Bridge by John McGuinness that his crash helmet collided with the fairing and McGuinness said later;- "I rode the remainder of the lap with a broken screen." In the Supersport Junior TT class, Michael Dunlop riding a 600 cc Yamaha jumped into 2nd place on the practice leaderboard with a time of 18 minutes 5.88 seconds an average speed of 125.085 mph. The 2007 Lightweight Manx Grand Prix winner, Olie Linsdell crashed on the bumpy Glentramman section during Wednesday evening practice. After being stranded at Parliament Square on Wednesday evening with a loose battery, Cameron Donald riding a 1000 cc Suzuki lapped faster than McGuinness in a time of 17 minutes 13.25 seconds an average speed of 131.457 mph in the Thursday evening practice session. A third lap of over 130 mph for the 2009 Isle of Man TT races was recorded by his Suzuki teammate, Bruce Anstey in 17 minutes 23.79 seconds an average speed of 130.129 mph. In the Supersport class, Michael Dunlop set an even faster time for the Junior TT during Thursday practice in 17 minutes and 55.45 seconds an average speed of 126.299 mph. The practice for the Sidecar TT class was red-flagged after a few competitors had left the TT Grandstand after the outfit 600 cc DMR Honda of Karl Bennett/Lee Cain caught fire at Douglas Road Corner in Kirk Michael. Also an oil-spillage on Bray Hill caused a high speed spin for the sidecar of David Atkinson/Jane Wheatcroft at St Ninian's Crossroads which led to the session being halted. The Friday evening practice of 5 June 2009 was held in the same hot weather, with a strong north-west wind on the Mountain Section of the course. The sidecar practice was extended by 30 minutes after the Thursday night postponement, although the times for both solo and sidecar classes were not generally as fast as the previous evening. After setting the fastest time on Thursday evening practice, Cameron Donald missed a gear change on the approach to Keppel Gate, running wide onto a grass bank and crashing on the uneven surface. A dislocated left shoulder and back injury forced Cameron Donald out of the 2009 Isle of Man TT Races.
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