Michael Rutter fifth after tragedy

During a race shortened to just two laps following the tragic death of 27-year-old Daley Mathison, Brierley Hill-born Rutter’s average lap speed of 129.199mph was enough to secure yet another top-five finish, following a close battle with James Hillier and Michael Dunlop for fourth.

The Bridgnorth star and the rest of the TT riders have had to deal with terrible weather conditions, which led to cancellation of five practice sessions. That in turn put the superbike race back from Saturday to Monday.

However, it all paled into insignificance following the fatal crash involving Mathison, one of the rising stars of the road racing scene, which led to the race – that had already been reduced from the normal six laps to four – being red-flagged at half-race distance.

Despite the gloomy conditions, Rutter, aged 47, had been able to take get some practice in on his Honda RCV, BMW 1000RR superstock machine, which he rides regularly in the National Superstock 1000 series and Kawasaki KMR 650cc supertwin.

However, so far he has been unable to try the Honda Mugen, which he rode to victory last year in the electric bike TT Zero race, after breaking down on the mountain section on his supertwin machine during practice.

Rutter, speaking after the practice session, said: “Overall, I’m very happy with the session, and the way the bikes are performing.

“My superstock is so familiar to me, so it’s great to not have to worry about setting it up.

The Honda RC213V is a joy to ride round the TT course, it really suits the place. We make a significant breakthrough on the chassis set up/ I must thank K-Tech for their help with that.

“I’ve been seeing loads of footage of the Honda on social media, with a lot of emphasis on the sound it makes, so I must say that it’s great to see so much interest in the bike, and reassure fans that riding it, is every bit as good as it sounds.”

There was no such good news for Bishop Castle rider Barry Furber, 34, who crashed at the 11th milestone during Monday’s supersport race.

Thankfully, he was not badly injured and was back competing, along with Rutter, in Wednesday Lightweight TT, Thursday’s Superstock TT and Friday’s Senior TT. Rutter was also racing on Thursday in the TT Zero.