Tyler Hannay was the deserved winner of the inaugural Isle of Man Closed Circuit Championship at Jurby Motordrome last Wednesday.

The event was held over 11 laps of the 1.7-mile course generally used for motorcycle racing, but introduced this year for the Bikestyle handicap road race league instead of the regular road courses that surround the former airfield.

While conditions in other parts of the island were damp and at times quite wet, the far north-west was largely devoid of precipitation and the conditions were generally good.

In this instance, the race elite was run off scratch, so there was a massed start for the field of 20 riders.

After only a couple of laps, 16-year-old Hannay got away with fellow Ramsey man Leon Mazzone (Crimson Orientation Marketing RT).

Their lead soon edged out to 10 then 15 seconds and a tad more, with little response from the bunch.

Ultimately they were pulled back in and the race briefly came together before Conor Davies (Saint Piran) had a dig off the front.

That lasted less than a lap before 48-year-old Andrew Roche (Ellan Vannin) made a break for it with two circuits remaining. Hannay - 32 years his junior - latched onto the wily former pro’s wheel and in no time at all they had gained a decent advantage over the chasers.

With Hannay on the front they then forged farther in front and going into the bell it looked likely they would stay away, with the bunch seemingly more intent on keeping a watchful eye on the out-of-isolation Tom Mazzone (Vitus Pro Cycling) in expectation of the final sprint.

Heading down the back straight with less than one mile remaining, two or three riders made a late but futile bid to catch the two escapees, but at the line the young legs of Hannay took the win by four seconds from Roche, with Tom Mazzone powering over the line first in the bunch sprint for third - a full 11s down on Roche who admitted that he had simply ’just waited’ until he saw the window of opportunity and gone for it.

He was confident with a lap to go that they would not be caught, but did not contest the sprint with his young breakaway companion.

Teenagers, Ben Christian and Will Corkill, team-mates of Hannay in the Utmost IoM Junior squad, were fourth and fifth.

Zac Walker edged out regular rival and RL360 team-mate Ralf Holden in the youth contest.

The Sport race was more of a regular handicap race that also came down to a mass sprint after the four groups came together in the closing stages.

It was a bit chaotic into the last right-hander, but Mark Horsthuis (Manx Viking Wheelers) had the pace in the final gallop to the line to edge out Paul Phillips, Chris Bulley and Simon Harding - the latter pair having won rounds three and five respectively.

Gran Fondo organiser Phillips finished in the top-three on three separate occasions, while Horsthuis - normally an A Group rider - had stepped down as he thought he would not have the legs on this occasion. He certainly disproved that as he then removed his transponder and rode the elite race, finishing well in the bunch.

The strongest woman all season at Jurby has been Jessie Carridge (Wheelers), and she subsequently took the closed circuit title as well as the overall series.

She edged out Kirree Quayle, Emily Looker and Michelle Gage in the mass sprint - all of the women starting in the same group.

IoM Closed Circuit Race Championships, Manx Viking Wheelers, Wednesday, Jurby Motordrome (incorporating round seven of circuit race handicap series), sponsored by Bikestyle.

Elite (11 laps) - scratch: 1, Tyler Hannay 38min 36sec; 2, Andrew Roche @4sec; 3, Tom Mazzone @15sec; 4, Ben Christian; 5, Will Corkill; 6, Leon Mazzone; 7, Conor Davies; 8, James Harrison; 9, Ross Thorley; 10, Zac Walker; 11, Rob Sorby; 12, Ralf Holden; 13, Chris Kneen; 14, William Draper; 15, Robbie Turner; 16, Tyler Annis all @ same time; 17, Jack Christian @19s.

Sport (10 laps) - handicap: 1, Mark Horsthuis 41m 31s; 2, Paul Phillips @ same time; 3, Chris Bulley; 4, Simon Harding; 5, John Sanderson; 6, Richard Cryer; 7, Ivan Sorby; 8, Andy Bass; 9, Pete Harrison; 10, Callum Salisbury; 11, Brayden Roche; 12, Barry Phillips; 13, Alec Kneen; 14, Russell Lewin; 15, Jessie Carridge; 16, Niall Colquitt; 17, Richard Dawson; 18, Kirree Quayle; 19, Kevan Gelling; 20, Chris Mitchell; 21, Stuart Grunsell; 22, Emily Looker; 23, Michelle Gage; 24, Harry Snape; 25, Eleanor Davies; 26, Sacha Horsthuis; 27, Adie Harrison; 28, David Maddrell; 29, Charlie Swales; 30, Peter Bradley @7s; 31, Bryan Moyer @7st; 32, Javier Mata @10s; 33, George Blackwell @11s; 34, Ste Dewhirst @15s; 35, James Scott @1m 29s; 36, Nick Whitehouse @4m 13s; 37, Phil Swales @8m 12s; 38, Peter Hounsell @1 lap; 39, Kaitlin Slack @1 lap.

Overall series (after seven rounds) - final standings: 1, Max Walker 492 points; 2, James Harrison 490; 3, Leon Mazzone 489; 4, Zac Walker 478; 4, Conor Davies 478; 6, Andrew Roche 476; 7, Tyler Hannay 470; 8, Rob Sorby 469; 9, Will Corkill 464; 10, William Draper 463. Women: 1, Jessie Carridge 446; 2, Emily Looker 417; 3, Sacha Horsthuis 416; 4, Kirree Quayle 412; 5, Michelle Gage 387; 6, Hannah Howitt 385. Manx Timing Solutions