Steve set the fastest lap in the final evening of practice for the Isle of Man TT races when he scorched around the 37.73-mile mountain road course in a time of 17m 50.03s – 126.938mph and he now moves to the top of the aggregate practice times.

He had already proved to be the fastest man on the track in the Superstock class as he was quickest on his first lap, posting a time of 18m 01.10s – 125.638mph from a standing start. He bettered that on his flying lap with the Padgett’s Racing Honda Fireblade before switching to the HM Plant Honda Supersport machine where he completed two laps to end up in second place in that class on the night.

The second of the two Supersport laps was spent chasing down William Dunlop who was ahead on time by a small margin. On the run across the Mountain Mile Steve edged nearer and was only a fraction slower at the Bungalow and by the time they reached Cronk ny Mona he was ahead on time.

But a slow run from there to the finish line saw Dunlop regain the lead and Steve finished the session just over two seconds adrift in second place.

“I wasn’t aware that I was that close,” said Steve. “But it’s no big deal because after all it is only practice. It’s the race that counts and if I am that close to the win in the race then I will be well happy.” 

With stormy weather approaching the Isle of Man it has already been announced that Saturday’s racing has been postponed until Monday with the six lap Superbike TT hopefully starting around 11am.

The races originally scheduled for Monday will now take place on Tuesday – weather permitting.

The overall practice results for Steve are as flows:

 TT Superbike and also the Senior TT

6th – Steve Plater 17.33.08 – 128.982 set on Thursday

 Supersport Junior TT

6th – Steve Plater 18.20.74 – set on Thursday

TT Superstock

1st – Steve Plater 17.50.03 – 126.936

• Note- these are not starting places – Steve will set off in seventh place in each class. 

Thursday evening was the penultimate evening of practice for the Isle of Man TT races where Steve  kicks off his schedule of races with the six-lap Superbike TT which is set to start at noon tomorrow (Saturday.)

Thursday evening saw Steve again put in some fast laps on the HM Plant Honda Superbike to better his personal best time set the previous day with a new time of 128.952mph, also registering a scorching 191.7mph through the speed trap at Sulby – and that was from a standing start!

Steve  just completed one lap on the Superbike before heading out to give the HM Plant Honda 600cc Supersport machine a run where he completed two laps of the 37.73-mile mountain course, his best lap being the second where he registered a speed of 123.397mph.

His final outing was on the Padgett’s Honda Fireblade in the Superstock class where he clocked up a fastest lap time of 123.338s on the first of the two laps.

He completed five laps of the TT course in total coming into the pits at the end of the session for a welcome rest!

“We had a good evening tonight,” said Steve. “I managed to get out on all three bikes at some stage during the practice session and everything was A-OK.

“Apart from the racing it’s been a constant round of PR appearances and photo calls. It has been a hectic week and it looks set to continue into Friday as we have more PR with the team then.”

Speaking on Friday afternoon Steve said: “The weather forecast isn’t too great for this evening, it’s been spitting with rain and a bit cooler and overcast today but at the moment it’s dry so lets hope we can get a few more laps in tonight.

“The forecast for Saturday is a bit dire, it says heavy and continuous rain – if that’s the case then we won’t be racing as the visibility won’t be good over the mountain. Let’s hope they have got it wrong as we need a nice clear day to provide us with some excellent racing.”

Steve will be out again tonight in the final session – weather permitting – and will take the Padgett’s Superstock out and then the HM Plant Honda Supersport around the course to make any final adjustments in preparation for Monday when he contests the Superstock TT and then the Supersport Junior TT in which he took his maiden win last year.

Roads closed bang on 18:00hrs in preparation for Wednesday evening practice. Conditions are perfect again with blue skies, bright sunshine with a little cloud cover and a slight breeze.

 Steve went out for two laps on the HM Plant Honda Super bike before switching to the Spaghetti’s Honda Super stock machine for a further two laps and then back on the Super bike for a final circuit.

Once practice got underway around 6.30pm Steve soon got dialled in and, from a standing start posted a lap time of 17m 51.62s – 126.75mph. He went on to better that and produce his personal best time for his three year TT campaign of 128.453mph with a lap time of 17m 37.42s that is only a whisker away from the outright course record and third fastest time of the session.

He then took the Spaghetti Racing Honda Fire blade out for two laps of the course, his best time being 18m 17.82s – 123.726mph in the Super stock class.

With time still left in the solo session Steve embarked on a final lap with the Super bike but the time does not reflect his true performance as he was hindered by yellow flags at Ginger Hall because of an accident and then again at the 33rd milestone because of oil on the track.

 “I spent a bit of time going through things with the team this morning and then had a bit of lunch with the family and then spent the afternoon just getting ready for the night’s practice.

 “It was quite cold earlier today and it looked as if we were in for a cooler evening so thought I might need a pair of long johns but all of a sudden the sun came out and it’s lovely now. The low sun is a bit of an issue again but it’s the same for everybody so it’s no big deal.

 “All three of my bikes are fine, they are not a million miles away but we are just trying to fine tune a number of things, try different tyres and get myself even more into TT mode. I was much happier on Tuesday and found my way around so felt more relaxed.

 “We had a pretty good night tonight and I learned a lot from it. I did get a good lap time in but really that’s not what we are here for, its only practice and it’s more about finding a good set up and being smooth and clean rather than posting the fastest lap.

“I took the Super bike out after the team had made more adjustments and my job was purely to analyse the changes ahead of Thursday practice.”

Thursday practice is scheduled to get underway at 6.30pm; there will be a further update on Friday.

Conditions at the TT were considerably better on Tuesday evening with a blustery breeze and some patchy cloud cover that helped keep the flies away and bring some welcome relief to the riders and their machines.

Steve completed a further four laps of the 37.73-mile mountain road circuit, two on the Superstock bike and two on the Supersport and reported all was fine with both machines.

He went out on the Padgett’s Honda Fireblade in the Superstock practice first and posted a couple of strong laps, the best giving him a lap time of 18m 12.11s – 124.372mph which was the sixth fastest time of the evening.

He then hopped onto the HM Plant Honda Supersport 600 bike and shot off to take in a further two laps where he posted a fast time of 18m 42.62s – 120.992mph to put him into fifth place in that class on the night.

Steve said: “We were warned before we set off to take extra care at Ballaugh as the hot weather has caused the tarmac to melt on the approach to the bridge.

“But everything went fine; I am riding the Padgett’s Honda in the Superstock class but still under the banner of HM Plant Honda.

“Like most other riders I am suffering from blisters on my hands, it’s a TT thing, we are on the bike so long and on public roads the friction over the bumps does cause a few problems – but nothing I can’t handle.

“The bikes are all running well and I am now getting to grips with the course again. I am a lot happier and now know where I am going and feel more comfy on the bike. I seem to be getting dialled in to the TT circuit as opposed to the short circuit so that’s a big help.

“Apart from the racing I am doing loads of PR with the HM Plant Honda team. It is nice to be able to meet the public, listen to their views and answer any questions they may ask.”

Hopefully the weather will hold for tonight’s practice, the forecast is good and also looking promising for the weekend.

There will be a further update on Steve’s practice on Thursday.

Following his second place finish at Thruxton, Steve left the circuit to travel back to the airport in time to catch his flight back to the Isle of Man to prepare for his assault of the TT course where the first timed practice evening began on Monday.

It had been a hectic weekend for Steve who had flown back and fore between the island for the first TT practice session and the Hampshire circuit in between qualifying and the British Supersport race on Sunday, but once back on the island the he was able to get a good night’s sleep in order to be fully fit for Monday’s evening of racing.

“I was really tired and once I had a shower and a meal with my wife and two daughters I switched the phone off and just crashed out.

“This morning I feel refreshed and ready to tackle the 37.73-mile mountain course and spent most of the afternoon with the HM Plant Honda team going through our plans for the week.”

First up on Monday evening Steve was out for two laps of the course on the HM Plant Honda Supersport bike and posted a fastest lap time of 18m38.67s – 121.419mph – to jump straight into fifth place on the leaderboard.

He then switched to the HM Plant Honda Superbike where he put in a further two laps of the course, the faster of the two laps being 18m.14.54s – 124.096mph – which took him to seventh place on the leaderboard..

“The sun was a bit of a nuisance again tonight as it was really low in the sky and in my eyes but the flies were not so bad. We didn’t find any issues with the bikes but still have a few adjustments to make before the next practice. But of course that’s what practice is for, to iron out any problems that occur and also to re-familiarise myself with the course.

“Its 37.73 miles around and it takes a bit of learning. The memory needs a bit of refreshing as I am still a little bit lost in a few places. But a few more laps on Tuesday should sort that out.”

Steve has joined forces with a new sponsor and begins his TT campaign partnered by Sunwise Sunglasses, he said: “I'm delighted to be associated with Sunwise; its ground-breaking eyewear lets me face any weather conditions with confidence, just like I have to on the starting grid”

Steve will immediately put his Sunwise glasses to the test at the Isle of Man TT, where he’ll hope they’ll be keeping bright sunshine and spraying champagne from his eyes.

Conditions were perfect on the island and Steve was greeted by blue skies and warm sun. He got his first taste of action shortly after 7pm when he took the HM Plant Honda Superbike out for a blast around the 37.73-mile TT course. He completed four laps of the gruelling mountain road course and was clocked through the Sulby Straight speed trap at 183.9mph.

“I enjoyed my first practice,” said Steve . “Conditions were near enough perfect except for the abundance of flies and bugs that attached themselves to the bike and my visor. It was also a bit dusty out there and as the evening wore on, the sun became a bit of a problem as it was very low in the sky. Apart from that, the bike ran well and it was a successful first test.”