Davey Todd Crowned Southern 100 Solo Champion for Second Time
Davey Todd has been crowned solo champion at the Isle of Man’s Southern 100 road races for the second time, demonstrating his dominance and skill on the challenging Billown Course.
After a blistering start, Davey Todd quickly took the lead over Michael Dunlop on the first lap of the 4.25-mile (6.8km) circuit, with Dean Harrison close behind. Despite a fierce challenge from Dunlop, who set his fastest lap at 116.743mph, Todd managed to maintain a narrow margin throughout the race, ultimately securing victory with a three-second lead at the end of the nine-lap contest.
Todd, hailing from Saltburn-by-the-Sea, reflected on his win, telling Manx Radio, “I said I’d come here to keep that number one on the bike and that’s what I’ve done.” This triumph follows his previous win in 2022, with the 2023 meeting having been abandoned due to a serious incident.
While Todd celebrated his victory, Michael Dunlop also had a noteworthy event, securing his 24th and 25th wins at the Southern 100 in the Senior and 600cc Challenge races. In the big bike race, Dunlop initially led from pole-sitter Jamie Coward but soon faced a strong challenge from Todd. The competition was intense, with Todd eventually overtaking Dunlop on the penultimate lap to win by a mere 0.073 seconds. Dean Harrison rounded out the podium in third place.
The 600cc Challenge race saw another close battle, this time between Mike Browne and Dunlop. Browne, unfortunately, crashed at Castletown Bridge on the final lap, allowing Paul Jordan to take second and Rob Hodson third. However, Browne did secure his first win of the meeting in the 600cc Supersport A race, narrowly defeating Dunlop by 0.3 seconds, with Jordan completing the top three.
In the Lightweight race, Rob Hodson claimed his second win of the 2024 event, pulling out a commanding lead before a red flag incident at Stadium Corner on lap three ended the race early. Hodson was declared the winner ahead of Todd and Michael Sweeney.
Grant Thompson dominated the Supersport B race, leading from start to finish and securing a comfortable 7.7-second victory over Adrian Harrison, with Aran Sadler in third.
In the final race of the meeting, Ben Birchall and Kevin Rousseau delivered a stellar performance to win the 2024 Southern 100 Sidecar Championship. The duo led from the start and set two lap records, finishing 7.3 seconds ahead of their nearest competitors. Birchall praised his partner Rousseau, stating, “I really, really enjoyed it, Kevin did a brilliant job, the more time on the bike, the better it gets.”
The Southern 100 was not without its incidents, with several races red-flagged due to crashes. Thankfully, the involved riders and passengers were reported to be conscious and receiving medical assessments.
