As positions changed on each lap, John steamed over the Mountain on the final lap to claim another excellent second place - and only missed out on the win by 2.8 seconds after over 150 miles of racing.

Conditions couldn’t have been more perfect as the race got underway, and John made his intentions clear from the off as he broke his own lap record from a standing start - although he found himself four seconds adrift of Tuesday’s Superstock winner Bruce Anstey. The duo were setting a ferocious pace at the head of the field, and went quicker still on the second lap - and the gap was just 4.5 seconds as they entered the pits to refuel at the end of lap two. Whilst Anstey floundered John had a great pit stop and was soon on his way but, behind, fellow Honda rider Ian Hutchinson had edged ahead.

Positions remained the same on lap three, so John had five seconds to make up over the final 37.73 miles - a gap which had extended to seven seconds by Ramsey. Nevertheless, John flew over the Mountain section of the course, arguably quicker than ever before, and his final lap of 125.096mph meant the thousands of fans all around the course were in for a nail-biting finish. Hutchinson flashed across the line and he edged out John by just 2.8 seconds, with Guy Martin in third and Anstey fourth, the quartet separated by just nine seconds!

Speaking immediately after the race, a delighted John said:
“That was a wicked race and we were all setting some mega speeds, so it just shows how good these 600cc bikes are now. I really enjoyed the race and, after dropping a bit of time at the start, when Bruce was flying, I tried incredibly hard - like I do in every race here. I lost a knee slider, which made it hard gauge the corners, and had quite a poor run through the backmarkers - catching them at the worst possible places - but I can’t have any excuses. Hutchy rode a great race, and I’m pleased he’s got his first win - I might have taught him too much though!

“I’ve got to say a massive thanks to Clive and the whole Padgett’s team, as they stepped in over the winter to give me a ride when I needed it most. They had the faith in me, and I’m really pleased to have given them a podium. I gave it everything and did the best job I could possibly do, which got me second on the day. It was a fantastic race and there was plenty of drama throughout, so I hope all the fans enjoyed it as much as what I did.”

John has just one race left now, with the six-lap Senior race, the Blue Riband event, taking place at 10:45am on Friday.

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