TT 2013 - Oil leak nearly scuppers Johnson's podium tilt

Gary Johnson was relieved to get to the finish of Monday's Superstock TT race after an oil leak almost scuppered his charge for the podium. The Lincs Lifting Ltd Kawasaki rider had led the race for the first three laps, pushing man of the moment Michael Dunlop harder than anyone else has done this week, before starting to suffer some slides early in the last lap. 

When his feet slipped off the foot pegs at Union Mills, the 32-year old not only thought his chances of a race win were over but also his chances of getting a first finish of the week.

"That final lap was really difficult and I was almost on the verge of pulling in somewhere. It's not easy trying to race round here when you know there's a problem somewhere and I had to back right off. I can't believe I lapped at over 128mph on that final lap as I really had to roll off everywhere," said Johnsonm speaking to bikesportnews.com.

"Up until that point, the Kawasaki had been awesome. My mechanic Spider and I built the bike in a garage over the winter and just had a few test sessions where we continued to make small tweaks so to get second today is superb."

The week prior to Monday's Superstock race hadn't gone to plan at all the ever-smiling Lincolnshire rider, running out of fuel whilst lying in second in the Superbike race and then retiring on the MV Agusta on the final lap of the Supersport race. But two 129mph+ laps gave him the lead in the Superstock race and on the verge of his second TT victory.

"I had three really strong laps and the way things are going this week, when you're catching Michael on the road, you know you're going pretty good. The lead never got that big and I'm not sure whether or not I would have been able to hold on to the lead as he rode brilliantly. 131mph on a Stocker is something special but it would have definitely been close at the end if I hadn't had the problem. We haven't had the results we deserve yet but, hopefully, this will be the shape of things to come for the rest of the week."

By Phil Wain on the Isle of Man

Image by Tony Goldsmith