Motorcycling: Jefferies holds off Duffus to join elite

DAVID JEFFERIES joined an elite group of five riders as he completed three victories during the Isle of Man TT Festival. The 26-year-old Yorkshireman provided a double-winning finale, taking a somewhat fortunate victory in the Production race, but then powering his V&M Yamaha R1 to success in the prestigious Senior TT.

Jefferies was on the charge in the early stages of the six-lap Senior, but a stunning opening lap saw the Glaswegian Jim Moodie shatter the lap record, covering the 37.73mile Mountain Course in 18min 11.4sec, an average speed of 124.45mph and 7.4sec inside the mark set by the triple World Superbike champion, Carl Fogarty, seven years ago.

Moodie stopped his Honda on the second lap with tyre problems, leaving Jefferies in command, at one point opening up a one-minute lead. He finished some 47sec ahead of his team-mate, Iain Duffus, who claimed second place from Ian Lougher with a last-lap dash over the mountain section.

Jefferies had earlier secured a dramatic Production race victory after a furious struggle with Duffus, who twice broke the lap record in his efforts to shake off the Yorkshireman. Jefferies, running barely a second adrift, ran wide at Ballacraine, clipping straw bales and losing time.

Duffus increased the lap record to 121.32mph and opened up a lead of almost half a minute, but then lost vital seconds as he stalled his machine coming into the re-fuelling halt. Jefferies then rode hard into Ramsey on the third and final lap, cutting the Scot's lead to 8sec over the mountain, but, with less than a mile remaining, Duffus stopped, out of fuel at Cronk ny Mona.

"I thought I had blown it," admitted Jefferies. "I overshot, clipping the straw bales twice, and then halfway round the second lap, the fuel light came on, so I had to be a bit careful."