Southern 100: Guy Martin sets practice pace at Billown

Martin recorded four podium finishes at this year's Isle of Man TT races

Guy Martin set the pace on both the 1000cc and 600cc machines in the opening practice session of the Southern 100 on Monday evening.

The Lincolnshire racer was the Solo champion at the Billown meeting in 2009 but missed last year's event after a high speed TT crash.

"I missed last year, but it's great to be back. It's a mega circuit with some real road racing corners," said Martin.

Paul Cranston was second quickest with five-time champion Ian Lougher third.

Martin added: "The entry list is pretty strong this year but I'm sure we can be at the sharp end fighting for some silverware on the Relentless Suzukis."

Manxman Dan Kneen was a late entry on the Mark Bloom Yamaha

Last year's Solo champion, Ryan Farquhar, was fourth quickest followed by Ramsey's Conor Cummins, Russ Mountford and Cameron Donald.

Meanwhile, Guy Martin also topped the 600cc leader board with Ryan Farquhar and Dan Kneen making up the top three, while Castletown's Chris Palmer topped both the 125cc and 400cc practice times.

An incident in the second 250/650 practice saw the session red-flagged with Ryan Farquhar setting the best time in the opening session.

Father and son team Ian and Carl Bell set the pace in the opening sidecar session with an average speed of 95.607mph before Simon Neary and Jason Crowe posted the time of the evening with a 97.153mph lap in the final session.

The second practice session takes place on Tuesday with a number of the Irish riders joining the event, including Michael and William Dunlop.

The evening programme will also include the Solo Founders race and a six-lap sidecar race.