Browne pips McLean to win in Historic Senior TT

Mike Browne took victory in the reduced-lap race

Ireland's Mike Browne took a narrow victory in the Historic Senior Classic TT, pipping Northern Ireland's Adam McLean by just 0.2 of a second.

After a delayed start on the Isle of Man's 37.7-mile Mountain Course due to overnight rain, Browne put in a final circuit of 20 minutes, 26.6 seconds on his Norton 500.

Dean Harrison brought his Matchless G50 home in third, 56 seconds adrift of the Royal Enfield Bullet of second-placed man McLean.

Originally due to be run over four laps, the race was cut to two because of the ongoing weather disruption to the race programme.

After a two-hour delay to proceedings, a good start by John McGuiness at the front on the road saw him pull out a five-second lead on Browne by Glen Helen on lap one, with Paul Jordan following less than a second behind.

Jordan, from Magherafelt in County Londonderry, briefly overhauled the Killeagh man before retiring at Parliament Square in Ramsey, opening the door for McLean to slot into third and then move up into second by the Bungalow.

But there was disappointment for the 'Morecambe Missile' McGuinness, who retired at the grandstand after picking up a puncture in the rear wheel of his Paton.

The final lap saw new race leader McLean stretch his advantage over Browne to 4.7 seconds by Glen Helen, with Yorkshireman Dean Harrison 19 seconds adrift in third and Ian Lougher in fourth.

A continued push from Browne narrowed the gap to 2.4 seconds by Ballaugh before he hit the front by 1.3 seconds at Ramsey Hairpin.

In a close-run contest over the mountain section, McLean reeled Browne's lead back to under a second but ended up having to settle for second as Browne crossed the line just 0.2 of a second ahead.

Adam McLean finished a very close second after a battle over the mountain section

Browne told Manx Radio Motorsport a mis-read pit board nearly lost him the race.

"I read it wrong into Gooseneck and thought it said P1 +10, and I really rolled off there coming through the Nook and stuff.

"Then I realised when I came in I was P1 +0, so I got away with that one!"

He said the overnight rain had also left the riders having to gauge the conditions over the first circuit.

"It was more taking in all the damp patches for the first lap, and knowing where you could push when the road would be dry for the second lap, so it was good to get it done.

"The machine was flawless, a small bit of a misfire on the last little bit - I'm not sure what it was - but I just nursed her over the line anyway."

McLean said he was "happy enough" after taking his second podium finish of the week.

"I can't believe I lost by that small margin, but it is what it is.

"The bike's going great. Second podium of the week so I'll take that."

Dean Harrison held on to third after a chase from Ian Lougher behind

Harrison held on to the final podium place, with Welshman Lougher finishing the race five seconds behind in fourth.

Baz Furber, Michael Sweeney, Conor Cummins, Michael Evans, Davey Todd and Alan Oversby rounded out the top 10.

The opening race of the returning Classic TT classes saw Northern Ireland's Michael Dunlop take victory in the Lightweight race.

That followed on from racing in the Manx Grand Prix classes, which saw the Supertwin and Supersport races completed on Saturday, with the Junior and Senior classes held on Monday.