TT 2017: Hutchy fastest again but weather stops play
Tyco BMW's Ian Hutchinson set the fastest lap so far during TT practice of almost 129mph from a standing start before deteriorating weather forced the session to be cancelled.
IAN Hutchinson upped his fastest lap time to almost 129mph on Wednesday evening before the weather again halted practice at the Isle of Man TT.
The Tyco BMW rider lapped at 128.987mph from a standing start but competitors only managed one full lap before the session was called off due to light rain and mist and fog on the Mountain.
The air ambulance helicopters were unable to provide cover in the conditions and Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson cancelled the session for the third time after practice on Saturday and Monday was also lost.
The forecast for Thursday on the Isle of Man does not look promising, with rain expected throughout the day. It now seems likely that racing will be switched from Saturday to Sunday to allow extra practice to take place. The Superbike and first Sidecar races are scheduled to take place on Saturday but a reshuffle of the programme by the organisers looks almost certain.
Michael Dunlop was second fastest on Wednesday evening as he completed his lap on the Bennetts Suzuki at 127.228mph, while Dean Harrison was third quickest on the Silicone Engineering Kawasaki at 126.157mph.
Manx rider Dan Kneen impressed again with a lap of 125.188mph on his BMW Superstock machine. Peter Hickman was fifth fastest on the Smiths BMW Superstock machine at 124.900mph with Conor Cummins setting his best lap so far at 124.734mph on the Padgetts Honda in sixth.
Bruce Anstey went out on the Padgetts Honda RC213V-S MotoGP bike for the first time and lapped at 124.140mph as he slotted into ninth in Wednesday's times behind James Hillier (JG Speedfit Kawasaki), who lapped at 124.519mph. Anstey was fastest through the Sulby speed trap at 189.6mph.
Lee Johnston opted to go out on his Padgetts Honda Supersport machine and did a lap of 122.160mph.
Dave Sellers came off at the Gooseneck and was later taken to Nobles hospital with a rib injury.
A contingency plan was put into place at the end of the lap whereby riders were permitted to ride at racing speed from the Grandstand to Ramsey, where they would then be accompanied over the Mountain on a speed controlled lap by a travelling marshal. However, the session was flagged off as the weather closed in.
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