In his own words "I had nothing to lose, so I decided I was going for a 120mph lap, having come so close in practice, and gave it everything". He threw caution to the wind, relaxed into a rhythm and, spurred on by his pit boards around the circuit, drew level and passed Dudgeon on the climb to the Bungalow. They matched each other for speed on the run-in to the Grandstand, Dudgeon crossed the line ahead and the crowd knew Tom had to cross the line within thirty nail-biting seconds to grab the win... he did it with 0.674 seconds to spare and became a Manx GP winner - mission accomplished.
The icing on the cake was that Tom's last lap averaged a staggering 121.1mph. He joins the "Tommy Club", an elite group of only 10 riders who have circulated at over 120mph, a club established in memory of Tommy "Spook" Clucas, the first Manx GP rider to do so, with an average speed of 120.28mph in 2004. Sadly Tommy Clucas lost his life at Ballaugh Bridge later in that same race.
Tom's next outing will be at the Gold Cup in Scarborough later this month, but now the hard work really starts for the privateer team, Tom and his mechanic Dad, Steve, as they attempt to raise sufficient funds to compete at the TT in 2017, Tom now being eligible for the most famous road race in the world.
Held UK are proud to supply leathers and gloves for Tom! To learn more about Held in the UK please visit www.held-uk.co.uk
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