LOCAL rider Conor Cummins was denied a historic victory in the Superbike race when his McAdoo Kawasaki was forced out with “mechanical failure” on his 5th lap at Laurel Bank whilst leading the race.
The Ramsey man’s dream of becoming the first Manxman in modern history to win one of the two top races of the TT was shattered, having led the race from the start.
One of his main rivals - John McGuinness - retired on the first lap on Sulby Straight but Cummins was riding at 130mph+ pace and even the great McGuinness would have found the Manxman tough to beat.
By the third lap Cummins had opened up a significant gap over eventual winner Hutchinson and Guy Martin and the lead extended to over 30 seconds by the end of lap four
But a slow pitstop at the end of lap four and a stalled engine as he re-started slashed Cummins’ lead over Hutchinson to just four seconds.
And by Laurel Bank Cummins was out, leaving Hutchinson to go on to a comfortable victory.
Photo: Conor Cummins leads Guy Martin into Creg ny Baa
on the second lap of the Superbike race (Bill Dale)
