PRACTICE for the 2010 Manx Grand Prix, sponsored by visitisleofman.com, got under way last week, and while the Sea Cat broke down – upsetting a good few of the riders' travel plans – most got to the ' Island' in time for Monday's practice. Skerries rider David Yeomans took the long way to get to the Island when he got his van and bikes taken over by Des Costello, while he travelled to West Cork for the Munster 100. There he rode his Wayne Boylan-sponsored 250 Honda in the Junior Support and got a loan of Damien Howard's 750 Suzuki for the Senior Support race.

The best laid plans in the world sometimes don't come to fruition, and a broken battery wire caused the Suzuki to stop, virtually handing the Senior Championship to Balbriggan rider Alan Bonner, but a second place in the Junior race leaves that championship down to the last race at Killalane. A distraught Yeomans made the long drive back to Dublin and got to the Isle of Man just in time for practice. The things lads do to keep racing! The past few years has seen the wet weather play havoc with practice, and coupled with the terrible conditions in the paddock, the Manx hasn't been a nice place to be.

For the strong contingent of local riders, they are well used to these conditions, and while they are not easy, they continue to get up there with the results. The Manx Grand Prix first started in 1923, and was known as the Amateur TT until its name was changed to the Manx Grand Prix in 1930. The event is run over the same route as the TT, the world-famous Mountain Course, and the 37.75-mile course has all the attractions and dangers of the big brother TT.

The costs of competiting in the Manx are still very high, with the entry fee alone costing over £ 500, and to make things worse there is no prize fund. Well, it is still the Amateur TT!

In 1988 Francis Everard finished third in the Newcomers 350 race, despite crashing at the 11th Milestone in practice on the Thursday night, and since then local riders have been to the fore. The late Martin Finnegan took the Newcomers 250 race in 2000, setting a new lap record of 111.19mph, which still stands today.

Later in the week, while dicing for the lead in the lightweight class, Martin slid off at White gates. Since then Keith Costello, David Yeomans and – last year – Andy Farrell and David Lumsden have all stood on the bottom rung of the podium.

This year we are again well represented, with Michael Sweeney, David Lumsden, Andy Farrell, David Yeomans and Sean Leonard, and from Drogheda we have Wayne Kirwin. Three years ago Michael Sweeney was leading the Newcomers when he came to grief on the Mountain, but this year he has started the practice week off in great style, with his speed increasing all through the week, and on Friday he posted the fastest time of the week at 119.734 on the Greenclean/ Tracblast 600 Yamaha.

This was just ahead of Kirwin who posted a lap of 118.267, while Lumsden was sixth with a lap of 117.533, just outside his best time of last year. This places him on the top of the practice leaderboard for both the Junior 600 and the Senior, and hopefully the talented Skerries rider will get the rub of the green that he deserves, after all the trouble the 600 gave earlier in the year.

In the Ultra lightweight, Michael Sweeney was fifth on the leaderboard on the Kiely Heating/ Sweetman Motors 650 Suzuki with a speed of 108.280, just ahead of another Skerries rider, Andy Farrell, who lapped at 107.319 to take him to seventh. With Sweeney topping both leaderboards, Andy Farrell was out on his aging 750 Suzuki ( as the senior is restricted to 750 machines) and he lapped at 112.522, with ' Yomo' at 109.508.

Sean Leonard is eighth in the Junior Classic at a speed of 90.148 and is looking forward to another good run.

While the Manx is restricted to Amateur riders, TT class riders are allowed to ride in certain classes, namely the Classic and post classic races, along with the Lightweight. Michael Dunlop has again been stealing the headlines, and has smashed the lap record in the Post Classic Senior class at a speed of 119.590 on a 997 Suzuki that was originally built seven years before Michael was even born.

Such is the pace of this class that the organisers have to revise their schedule on the opening day of racing in the interest of safety. In the lightweight 250 class, TT Sidecar-winning passenger and Manx Grand Prix winner Dan Sayle smashed the lap record in practice and is well ahead of the rest of the field. Davy Morgan is third on 107.929. The revised schedule saw the Post Classic Senior, Newcomers A and B, Post Classic Junior and Junior and Lightweight Classic races due to take place yesterday ( Monday). Tomorrow ( Wednesday) the four-lap junior race will start at 10.15, followed by the Senior Classic and a practice session for Friday's races. The Lightweight/ Ultra Lightweight four-lap race starts on Friday at 10.15, followed by the four lap Senior at 1.15. Times could change depending on the weather, and you can follow the programme on www.mgpfestival.com or live on Manx Radio 1368 on the MW.

Keep ' er lit.

- JACK CORRY