Uel Duncan Racing's Gary Johnson said his tough 2009 Isle of Man TT couldn’t have ended any better after securing his debut podium finish.
The 28-year-old finished third in Friday’s Pokerstars Senior TT, and achieved his personal best lap speed around the Mountain course – an average of 129.539mph.
The result meant Johnson finished all five solo races in the top 10.
The race got under way at 1.30pm, after a 30-minute delay, and Johnson was immediately on the pace, recording an opening lap speed of 128.837mph to move into seventh. Although he had been overhauled on the road by the flying John McGuinness, who went on to set a new outright lap record in excess of 131mph, Johnson was riding well and recorded a 129.539mph lap to move up to fifth, just over a second off fourth place
Positions remained the same until a dramatic period that saw race leader McGuinness and third placed Guy Martin retire and fourth placed Ian Hutchinson crash out, fortunately without injury. When the dust settled, Johnson was third, despite obtaining a 10 second penalty for a stop-box infringement when he came in to the pits. A final lap of 128.978mph saw him bring the Robinson Concrete Honda home for a fantastic third place, the first TT podium for the team since Cameron Donald finished second in the same race two years ago.
Johnson said:
‘It feels absolutely brilliant to get a podium finish, especially in the Senior, and the week couldn't have ended any better. I've struggled with the big bike throughout the fortnight and it was all over the place on the first lap, but all the boys at Uel Duncan Racing, Honda and Dunlop pulled out all the stops for today's race and we got the result we deserved.’‘I had a bit of luck with a couple of retirements, but the TT is as much about lasting the distance as it is about the race and you have to be in it at the end. I made a bit of an idiot of myself at the pit stop when I didn't get stopped in time, but I managed to lap at close to 129.6mph and for a privateer team like ours to come 3rd is a terrific result.’
‘It's only my third year at the TT and to get on to the podium is what I've always wanted and I'm so happy for the team. The boys have worked so hard all week and it's testament to their efforts that we've finished inside the top 10 in every race.’‘It's been a tough TT but it's been an enjoyable TT and we can now look forward to the rest of the year in a good frame of mind.’
