This is your old friend Ferodo Vaselini ™  signing in, on my regular Racing Line.

Team Hales Honda celebrates it’s second successive Victory, in this years 2005 Junior Classic Manx Grand Prix, when now IOM resident Chris McGahan won by 67seconds. It could have been even better with 1st & 3rd for Team Hales Honda had Alan Oversby Machine not expired on the last lap at Brandish!

Practice had been fast, but not faultless for Chris, he had some gear selector problems with the seven speed experiment gearbox and reverted to the 5 speed unit for the race. Even so he put in the fasted time, all practice week, in the Junior Classic class.

Alan Oversby had some handling issues with his standard framed machine, which were dialled out, to some extent with rear damper adjustment. This is to be expected, as it is only the second time the bike has turned a wheel. He even achieved fasted practice time on Friday 26th Aug.

The weather conditions where bright and dry for race day, with a little mist over the mountains.

Chris usually likes to start number nine, but as last year’s winner he started first. Alan with a strange turn of fate started ninth. As they blasted away in pair’s, at 10 second intervals, we awaited the reports in the pit lane.
To Chris’s and our surprise, the man who came out of the box like a Cracker Jack was Roy Richardson; he was 10 sec up by the nine mile run to Glen Helen. At Ramsey it was 20 and by the end of the lap 37 sec, with a standing start of 101 MPH.
As Chris said “I got a surprise that Roy went past so early”

It was not to last though, as Richardson’s engine cried enough on the second lap at Ballaugh. This handed Chris a 27 sec lead over eventual second place man Tony Cawte.

Alan’s steadily worked his way up the leader board with probably the fastest ever lap of 97.4 MPH on a standard famed CB350. He had just worked his way up to a podium position after passing Tim Johnson, who had fatally crashed at the Black Hut. Alan’s glory was not to be however, as his own engine expired at Brandish.
Chris steadily increased his lead to 67 sec over Tony Cawte, with Dave Madsen-Mygdal in third.

So thanks to the entrants, Suzi & Tony Hales, who supply the team. The sponsors and official photographer John Powell, Ian Lawton Team Psychiatrist and not least Cliff Judge Team Confusion Manager, my companion for our stay in the damp paddock
 

This is Old slippery taking the Chequered Flag until Next Year. Ferodo Vaselini ™ 

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