Isle of Man TT 2019: Supersport race two postponed until Thursday as heavy rain causes more delays – latest schedule
The second Monster Energy Supersport Race at the Isle of Man TT has been postponed until Thursday after the island was hit with more rain to play havoc with the schedule.
An initial two-hour delay was repeatedly extended as rain hit the west and northern parts of the 37.73-mile circuit, leaving roads too wet for racing to take place in the afternoon.
As a result, organisers have rescheduled the supersport race to be one of four races on Thursday, with Friday's Senior TT brought forward to a 10:30am start due to the threat of rain on Friday afternoon.
Welcome to The Independent's live coverage of Wednesday's Isle of Man TT coverage as the second supersport race takes place, along with the Lightweight TT.
After Tuesday's frustration in all racing being cancelled, it looks like we'll be back at it today with the skies above the Isle of Man clearing throughout the morning.
We do however have a two-hour delay in order for the roads to dry out, so here's the provisional schedule for the rest of the day:
To fill the time, let's take a look back on Monday's action.
After a frustrating week that saw eight of 10 planned qualifying sessions cancelled due to the bad weather, racing was delayed by two days until Monday, when we finally got underway with the RST Superbike race.
It was a repeat battle of last year's Senior TT as Hickman and Harrison went toe-to-toe once more, with Harrison leading throughout the first lap and to the Mountain on the second lap.
But in what is quickly becoming Hickman territory, the Smiths Racing BMW rider snatched the lead heading into pit lane, and when red flags came out early on lap three, Hickman was declared the winner to pick up his third TT victory.
Sadly, that premature finish brought tragic news later in the day as it was confirmed that 27-tear-old English rider Daley Mathison had suffered a fatal accident at Snugborough, around two miles into the 37.73-mile course.
Mathison was a three-time TT podium finisher and was a strong bet for the TT Zero this year, as well as impressing in Lightweight TT qualifying, and the sad news overshadowed the opening day of racing.
Racing continued on Monday with the first Sidecar race in what unsurprisingly proved an attritional affair.
With limited practice last week, both Dave Molyneux and Tim Reeves, two Isle of Man TT veterans, were forced to retire before reaching the halfway mark of the opening lap - Reeves did not even make it past Quarterbridge just a mile into the race.
But it was no surprise to see the Birchall brother, Tom and Ben, power away at the front to claim a 48-second victory and win their sixth consecutive Sidecar TT, their eighth together in total.
The final race of the day saw the Monster Energy Supersport Race One curtailed after two of the four planned laps as rain set in over the west side of the island.
A confusing finish saw riders prepare for their stops at the end of the second lap, only to be pointed over the finish line to take the chequered flag.
Early leader James Hillier was locked in a race-long battle with Northern Ireland's Lee Johnston, who took the lead at the end of the first lap and held on throughtout the second to clinch a first TT victory in emotional scenes.
Speaking after the race, Johnston revealed an insight into a TT rider's mindset that, despite knowing how brave they are to go out there at speeds close to 200mph, still made for jaw-dropping reading.
Having hit the rain on the second lap, Johnston would have been forgiven for easing off the throttle or pointing the weather out to marshals, but instead 'The General' pinned it knowing that a first TT victory was up for grabs.
“You know when you're leading you don't want to put your hand up and point it out. I could see the rain on my screen and I didn't know if it was the overflow bottle leaking but I put my head up and I could see rain on my visor.
”I thought I'm not going to lose this by not being brave enough because of a bit of rain."
And so to Tuesday, and unfortunately those pesky clouds returned to end any chance of racing at the island as organisers made the early decision to cancel all racing.
The delay is due to a few located rain showers cropping up, one at Ramsey and another at Tower Bends, but officials are confident that they will not have a major impact on proceedings and we should still be away within the hour.
Latest revised schedule: With the supersport race set to get underway at 2:!5pm, the Lightweight TT will remain at 6:30pm, but the sidecar and senior/superstock qualifying sessions have been moved to the evening weather permitting. The TT Zero qualifying will remain at 4pm.
This...does not look good. That 2:15pm start is looking highly unlikely right now as the west and north side of the track is being pelted with "monsoon conditions".
Here's the view as of 10 minutes ago on the Sulby Straight...
Furthermore, the supersport race has been reduced from four the three laps due to the need to reopen the public roads at 5pm. However, you'd have to suggest that that start time is slightly optimistic.
If the race goes ahead - and clerk of the course Gary Thompson has just stressed it's a big if - then riders will have to pit at the end of the first lap for a mandatory pitstop, removing the strategy difference between riders having the option to stop on the first or second lap.
Races are not shown live from the TT, so the best way to follow the action as it happens is with local radio or The Independent’s live blog throughout the event. Radio coverage is provided by Manx Radio over the fortnight, while live timing is available through the official www.iomttraces.com website.
Wednesday’s schedule
12:45pm: Monster Energy Supersport Race Two
2:30pm: Sidecar qualifying - 1 lap
3pm: Senior/Supersport qualifying - 2 laps
4pm: TT Zero qualifying - 1 lap
6:30pm: Lightweight TT - 4 laps
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