Double joy for Donald; illness forces Anstey out.
Australian Cameron Donald secured his second TT win in the Superstock Race; the first double by an Australian rider since Graeme McGregor in 1984. Pre-race favourite Bruce Anstey retired due to feeling unwell.
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 Scottish Life International Superstock Race It was something of a surprise when the race started on time as there was mist hanging over the mountain section. From our vantage point at Waterworks it appeared to be at a level that would affect the course in the Mountain Box area. There were damp patches on the run from Hairpin to Waterworks; so presumably also in areas such as Glen Helen and Bishopscourt. Whilst the riders noted some drifting mist on the opening lap all agreed that the decision to start on time was the correct one. Guy Martin was first man away; with pre-race favourite Bruce Anstey 40s behind him at number 5. At Glen Helen the expected script was not being followed; it was John McGuinness who led on Steve Brogan’s machine on which he had managed just 3 laps of practice. In second place was Gary Johnson 1.3s down; with Bruce Anstey a further second behind. Ryan Farquhar, Cameron Donald and Guy Martin completed the top six. At the double right hand bend at Waterworks Guy Martin was first man to break the silence on the Hydrex Bikeanimal.com Honda. Guy said after the race that he was having gear selection problems; probably because he was being too gentle with the lever; no quick shifters on these bikes. He was marginally in front of Conor Cummins on our watch; but John McGuinness was 5s ahead of them. Cameron Donald was the man on the move; he had cut McGuinness’ lead to just 1.25s as they raced uphill towards Tower Bends. The action was fast and furious as the riders streamed through and the fight for the podium places could scarcely have been closer; we had Ryan Farquhar and Gary Johnson tied in third, Conor Cummins in fifth just 0.1 ahead of Guy Martin. With mist affecting the highest section of the course the advantage could have been expected to be with the most experienced riders; however it was Cameron Donald who was fastest over the top, he is used to riding in the mist in the mountains back home. At the end of the lap Cameron had the lead by 1.7s from John McGuinness; Farquhar held third; Cummins, Johnson and Martin completed the top six. Having hit the front Donald opened the taps and began to increase his lead. As they passed us Guy Martin led on the road from McGuinness who had Conor Cummins tight behind him and no doubt learning from the master. Next through was Donald who was 4.1s in the lead on our watch. Anstey was next and he clearly had a problem; being noticeably slower than the others; Bruce was feeling unwell and retired at the pits at the end of the lap; meaning that a new name would appear on the Superstock trophy. Guy Martin had now “pulled his finger out” and taken third place on our watch, with Farquhar 4th, Cummins 5th and Johnson 6th. As the leaders approached the end of the lap we had the news of disappointment for Johnson and Keith Amor; both had run out of fuel within 2 miles of the Grandstand. This gave us a top six of Donald; 2.6s ahead of McGuinness; Martin -7.7s; Cummins -4.3s; Farquhar -1.6s and Dan Stewart, having another excellent ride a further 32s in arrears. With the aid of a slick pit stop Donald had increased his advantage 9.4s at Glen Helen on the third lap, where Guy Martin had reduced his deficit to McGuinness to 4.9s. A rapid pit stop had allowed Farquhar to move ahead of Cummins; they were secure in their placings, with the new 6th place man Adrian Archibald over 50s behind. At Waterworks the lead was down to 4s on our watch; with 49 miles of racing left; could Martin overhaul McGuinness? Cummins was third on the road but had Cameron Donald just a few metres behind. As they screamed over the line to begin the final lap Donald had a lead of 17.5s; his second win secure barring machine failure. McGuinness had eked his advantage over Martin out to 4.5s. Farquhar had 3.8s advantage over Cummins, with Archibald 37s behind him. Donald rode to his boards on the final lap, keeping his lead fairly constant. He brought the Relentless by TAS team their second win of the week and maintained Suzuki’s 100% record in the race since it became the Superstock. The main interest was on the battle for second; at Waterworks we had McGuinness just 3s ahead of the flying Martin. John was fast enough over the mountain to keep Guy at bay; securing second place by just 2.95s after 151 miles of racing. Ryan Farquhar took 4th, his second top six placing; with Conor Cummins making for Superbike retirement with an excellent 5th. Adrian Archibald secured 6th place, having been 13th at the end of the first lap. There were no incidents reported in what had been an excellent race. 1. Cameron Donald 125.776mph 2. John McGuinness 125.338mph 3. Guy Martin 125.253mph 4. Ryan Farquhar 124.756mph 5. Conor Cummins 124.605mph 6. Adrian Archibald 123.596mph 7. Ian Lougher 123.103mph 8. Steve Plater 122.897mph 9. Carl Rennie 122.732mph 10. Daniel Stewart 122.001mph 11. Les Shand 121.285mph 12. Ian Pattinson 121.281mph
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