Johnny Stewart won both the Carole Nash Junior Manx Grand Prix and the O’Kell’s Senior Manx Grand Prix to create history as the first rider to win all four races at the Manx Grand Prix in a year.
It has been a sensational event for the up-and-coming Scottish rider in his third year on the island. He won both races on Saturday and repeated the feat on Monday’s final day of racing. Riding his Aprilia RS 660 in the Carole Nash-backed Junior, Stewart became only the second rider to win three Manx Grand Prix races in a week when he took the honours in a race stopped after two laps, due to a crash involving Liam Chawke at Black Dub – the Englishman being hospitalised but up and talking after the incident.
Second went to Dan Sayle, an eight-time former TT winner as a sidecar passenger, who had led early in the race, with Eddy Wormald maintaining his 100% podium record at this year’s event.
The Senior, run using Supersport specification machines, was run over four laps and saw Stewart close out his record breaking week with a 121.062mph lap on his Ducati to win by almost 36 seconds from Suzuki-mounted Wormald. Graham McAleese was third on his Yamaha, taking his second podium of the week.
“It doesn’t feel real,” Stewart said after his perfect race week. “At the start of the week, just to even finish a race is mega. To win once is amazing, to win two is even better but four is just off the charts.”
The road racing community will now look to see what’s next for the 25-year-old from the Scottish Borders, who will no doubt be looking to line up at the TT next May.
While Stewart is at the start of his Mountain Course journey, he shared the headlines with another Isle of Man history maker.
John McGuinness, a 23-time TT winner and the first rider to record a 130mph lap of the 37.73-mile course, won the Historic Senior Isle of Man TT. Run over three laps between the two Manx Grand Prix outings, the 54-year-old took the Team Winfield Paton on which he’s enjoyed considerable success over the years to victory over Shaun Anderson on another Paton, with Mike Browne third on a Norton. In a three-lap race notorious for breaking the 50+ year old bikes, only 11 riders saw the chequered flag, with top TT stars Dean Harrison, Michael Dunlop and Jamie Coward among the retirements. It was a fitting victory for McGuinness, whose 30 year career is being celebrated at the Classic TT this year. It was his fourth win on the Paton and his first win since the 2019 running of the race. Among the other finishers was sidecar legend Ben Birchall, who was the first 350cc machine home – in seventh – in his first meeting as a solo rider around the Mountain Course.
Monday’s racing was closed with a win for Rob Hodson in the new Junior 600 Classic TT for ‘pre-injection’ 600cc supersport bikes. Run over two laps, the rider from Wigan headed an all Yamaha podium, with popular privateer Baz Furber holding on to second despite running low on fuel, ahead of Manxman Joe Yeardsley in third.
With rain forecast for later in the week, the Classic TT races have been brought forward by a few days. The event is set to be closed out on Tuesday with a four-lap Senior Classic TT in the morning followed by an afternoon of parades, with track activity being closed by a 12 bike celebration of John McGuinness’ career – featuring some of the most significant bikes of his career being riding by legendary racers.
Photos: Manx Grand Prix/Isle of Man TT
