IOMTT: Bennetts Lightweight TT Results

Wednesday’s second race for the day saw the small bikes of the Bennetts Lightweight TT take to the Mountain Course for the 2017 Isle of Man TT.

The four-lap race saw Michael Rutter finish on the top step of the podium, giving Italian marque Paton its first manufacturer win ever at the Isle of Man TT. In the process of that victory (Rutter’s fifth total), Rutter set a new Lightweight TT record, posting a 118.645 mph lap.

Rutter lead the entire race, from the starter’s flag to the checkered flag, with Martin Jessopp finishing second, and Peter Hickman finishing third.

The day almost saw a Paton 1-2 finish though, with Stefano Bonetti holding the second-place position through the first lap, before Jessopp passed him heading into Glen Helen. Bonetti’s day was done near the end of the second lap, having to retire at Creg-ny-Baa.

For both Rutter and Lintin, valuable time was lost in the pits, with Lintin having to swap helmets, which cost him his third place position over Peter Hickman. Lintin wouldn’t recover that time, however Rutter was able to gobble back some of the duration lost on the course.

Catching Jessopp on the course during the fourth and final lap, Rutter hung onto the second-place man, managing his lead and the 25-second gap back to Hickman.

The win was Rutter’s first since 2013; for Jessopp, it was his best result ever and his second TT podium ever; and for Hickman it was his fourth podium from his fourth TT start this year – an impressive result for all three riders.