Manx Grand Prix: Dean Harrison grabs victory in Senior Classic race

Dean Harrison grabbed victory in the Senior Classic, the first race of the 2023 Manx Grand Prix.

The 34-year-old finished with a comfortable 52.5-second lead over second placed John McGuinness.

Harrison set the fastest time on lap two of the 37.74-mile (60km) Mountain Course, clocking 20 minutes and 19.3 seconds.

Having spent most of the race in third, McGuinness edged out Mike Browne for second by a 4.3 second margin.

Disruption to the race schedule because of bad weather on Friday meant the race was shortened from four laps to three.

Dean Harrison took the lead on lap one and held it throughout the race

While McGuinness, 51, held an early lead over Harrison in the opening sectors of the race, Browne overhauled them both by the time the bikes reached Ramsey.

At the end of lap 33-year-old Browne had built a cushion of 4.6 seconds over Harrison, with McGuinness a further 4.9 seconds behind on his Paton.

An issue with his machine saw Mike Browne slip back to third

By the time the riders reached Glen Helen on lap two the two front runners, who were both on Norton machinery, had changed positions, with Harrison edging 0.9 seconds ahead, leaving McGuinness trailing 26.2 seconds back following a mandatory pitstop.

With that lead building throughout the lap the Bradford racer set a new Manx Grand Prix lap record for the class with a speed of 111.395mph.

It left Cork's Browne 11.1 second behind, with McGuinness a further 32.4 seconds back, with Banbridge's Shaun Anderson close behind in fourth.

John McGuinness battled back to claim second place after falling to fourth on lap three

By Ballaugh on lap three the 39-year-old Northern Irishman, also on Paton machinery, had overhauled McGuinness by 9 seconds.

And with Browne losing time on the final lap due to a technical issue with the Norton, Anderson temporarily slotted in to second place before falling back to fourth at the chequered flag after a late charge by McGuinness.

There was disappointment for Shaun Anderson who just missed out on a podium place

Harrison finished the three-lap race more than 50 seconds ahead of his nearest rival in a time of 1 hour, 1 minute, and 22,5 seconds.

Speaking to Manx Radio, he said the race was "so much fun" on the 500cc Norton Manx, which "never missed a beat all week".

He added: "To win the Manx on a Manx is a nice thing, isn't it? And I'll be honest, this is the best classic bike I've ever ridden, honestly the thing handles like you wouldn't believe.

"I was flat out everywhere on the thing, so I'm absolutely over the moon to give them boys a win after all the work they've put in, so brilliant.

"I could have gone quicker, I reckon I could have gone 112mph on the last lap, but I saw that I had such a big lead… I knocked a bit of pace out of it on the last half a lap.

"My first two sectors were actually quicker on the last lap because I thought 'I don't want to lose the lead here', so I started to push on a little bit. But no, over the moon with that."