Isle of Man TT 2014: Monster Supersport TT 1 Results

Gary Johnson narrowly beat out Bruce Anstey to take the first of two Supersport races at the 2014 Isle of Man TT. Riding the Daytona 675, Johnson’s win was the first for Triumph since 2003, ironically, with Anstey taking the victory that year in the Junior 600cc class.

The race started three hours behind schedule due to fog, but once it began it quickly became a duel between Johnson and Anstey. Only 0.09 seconds separated the two when they passed Glen Helen checkpoint between the 9th and tenth mile markers. Michael Dunlop, who won the Superbike TT earlier, was just a half second behind them.

After the first of four laps, it was Johnson holding a 1.618-second lead over Anstey after posting a  125.766 mph lap while Dunlop dropped to about three seconds behind.

Anstey was able to narrow the gap on the second lap, actually taking the lead by 0.8 seconds past Glen Helen but Johnson was able to regain the advantage and stretch his lead to 2.4 seconds before heading to the pits for the final two laps. Anstey entered the pits as well but his crew worked much faster than Johnson’s, and the two riders left the pits with just a third of a second separating them.

But Johnson was once again able to build up his lead, developing a 2.8-second advantage heading into the final lap. The two riders battled through one more tour of the Mountain Course before Johnson finish just 1.5 seconds ahead of Anstey.

[Source: IOMTT.com]

By Dennis Chung