Wins and podiums for Lintin at the Southern 100
Ivan Lintin’s excellent 2015 road racing season continued this week when the RC Express Racing rider took two wins in the Supertwins class at the Southern 100 road races as well as finishing third in the feature Solo Championship and second in the Supersport 600cc race. The week didn’t get off to the greatest of starts for anyone when rain on the Isle of Man wiped out the majority of Monday and Tuesday night’s action but by Wednesday conditions were good all around the 4.25-mile Billown Course and Ivan opened his account with a solid fifth place in the Senior race, lapping at just under 110mph. He followed that up with a four-second win in the opening Supertwins race, overcoming early race leader James Cowton before pulling clear. His final race of the evening was a thrilling Supersport 600cc race which saw no less than six riders battle for the lead. Positions changed hands frequently and Ivan eventually crossed the line in fourth. The weather on the island was perfect on Thursday and the second Senior race saw Ivan take the Kawasaki ZX-10R Superstock machine to another fifth place, just behind Dan Kneen. It was then back on to the Kawasaki ZX-6R for the second Supersport race which was another close affair. On this occasion, Ivan took the lead early on and although Dean Harrison overhauled him, the Bardney rider lapped quicker then ever before on a 600cc machine, 109.043mph, to finish in a fine second place. The second Supertwins race saw Ivan take his second win of the week after leading from start to finish and only narrowly missing out on the lap record. That just left the feature Solo Championship race where he was again out on his Superstock mount. The early stages saw Ivan, Guy Martin, Dan Kneen, Harrison and Michael Dunlop nose to tail but when Dunlop crashed at Ballabeg on the third lap, Ivan had to take avoiding action and the group split. However, he regrouped excellently and with his fastest ever lap of the circuit, 111.619mph, he finished in an excellent third place to wrap up another superb week of road racing for both himself and the team. Ivan Lintin: “I’m over the moon with how the week’s gone and with seven top five finishes from seven starts, including two wins and podiums in the main race and 600, I’ve got to be happy. I’ve gone faster than ever before on the 1000 and 600 and there are lots of positives to take from the week. I opted to use the Stocker on Thursday as I felt more comfortable on the bike and the main race was nip and tuck in the early stages but when Michael lost the back end coming out of Ballabeg hairpin, I didn’t have anywhere to go.” “I had to take avoiding action and clipped him slightly so I hope he’s ok but it meant we got split up and Dan and Guy got away. I got going again and was pleased with the third whilst the two 600cc races were equally pleasing even if the first one was a bit bonkers with all the passing that was going on! I tried to get away in the second but Dean had a little bit more than me although I was well happy with second and a 109mph+ lap. The bikes have been brilliant all week so a massive thanks as always to the team for doing such a superb job.” Roy Constable, Team Co-owner: “It’s been a mega week and the results have been more than we expected so hats off to Ivan. We expected him to be in the mix in the Supertwins class but his podiums in the 600 and Championship race were definite bonuses, especially the latter where he was on a Superstock bike against Superbike machines. He’s finished in the top five in all his races and the whole team is over the moon with what’s been a cracking week. Ivan’s having a great year with us and we couldn’t be happier with how he’s performed since he’s been with us so we’re all hoping the success continues until the end of the season." Ivan and the team now head to Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough for the Cock o’ the North Trophy races, which take place on July 18-19.Pictures by Jon Jessop Photography
