The overnight rain and morning mist had long gone by the time the session got underway at 6.20pm and clear skies and sunshine were again the order of the day although damp patches remained on the exit of Ramsey Hairpin, the Nook and Governor’s Bridge.
First to leave the line on this occasion were Michael Rutter (Bathams Racing BMW) and Hickman, quickly followed by Lee Johnston (Honda Racing) and Derek Sheils (Penz13.com BMW), Martin Jessopp (Riders Motorcycles BMW) and Gary Johnson (RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki).
James Hillier (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki) and David Johnson (Gulf BMW) were also away early with man of the week Dean Harrison (Silicone Engineering Kawasaki) and Michael Dunlop (Tyco BMW) slightly further back.
Hickman was first to complete a lap at 131.113mph and he’d opened up a large gap on the road over Rutter who lapped at 127.475mph. Harrison and Dunlop were both over 130mph though, lapping at 130.612mph and 130.606mph respectively while Josh Brookes also had a good opening lap on the Norton at 129.174mph.
Hickman and Rutter both elected to go straight through with Harrison and Dunlop pulling in to change machines. Hickman was taking full advantage of the clear road in front him with his second lap – an excellent 132.81mph – an unofficial personal best and the second fastest lap of the week to date. Rutter was a retirement though, stopping at Cruickshanks although he did manage to get back to register another qualifying lap.
Harrison was also over 130mph second time around – this time on his Superstock mount, while Conor Cummins was again impressing on his Padgetts Honda Superbike at 131.18mph. David Johnson (129.63) and Hillier (128.06) also had strong second laps as did newcomer Davey Todd who set his best lap of the week at 123.995mph. Fellow newcomer David Jackson was also above 120mph for the first time but Adam Lyon retired at Cronk y Voddy.
As the session wore on, speeds were reduced due to an incident involving Chris Petty at St Ninians which left debris in the road but Hickman went to the top of the Superstock times briefly with a lap of 128.38mph. However, this was ultimately bettered by David Johnson who posted a lap of 129.20mph.
31/05/2018: David Johnson (BMW/Gulf BMW) at Rhencullen during Thursday evening’s Isle of Man TT qualifying session. PICTURE BY DAVE KNEEN/PACEMAKER PRESS.