09
June
2011
|
08:42
Europe/Amsterdam
Two out of three for Pirelli as Gary Johnson takes first TT Victory in Supersport Thriller
Pirelli rider Gary Johnson today took his first ever TT win and with Guy Martin in third, it was two on the Supersport podium for the Italian tyre brand, who hold great passion for this unique event.
Gary controlled the Monster Energy Supersport 600 race from the front to win by 8 seconds and was immediately swamped by wellwishers including the legendary Giacomo Agostini. Gary said, “That was a brilliant race, I tried to stay a foot from the hedges like I always do and straightline it. I made a break from the start and looked at the pitboards to keep the gap steady. The Pirellis worked so well on this Supersport bike from the first to last lap, were consistent all the way through and I don’t think I was too hard on them either, I just tried to stay smooth. What an awesome feeling!” A clearly frustrated Guy Martin was aggrieved at slowing for a red flag as he logged his twelfth podium at the TT and made it two out of three on the ‘box’ running the Supersport spec Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa tyres.
Manx hero Conor Cummins continued his impressive comeback as he finished sixth in a quality packed field. Ben Wylie finished seventh on his YZF-R6 and James Hillier ninth as he continues a fantastic week on his trio of Bournemouth Kawasaki’s. 
Pirelli UK’s Racing Manager Jason Griffiths summed up, “What a fantastic first win for Gary, he’s shown terrific speed all week and this is so deserved for Gary, Phil Reed and the whole team. With Guy also on the podium this has been a great race for us and the Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa tyres remained consistently strong through all four laps.”
The final race of the week is what is considered the major event, the ‘PokerStars Senior’ on Friday.