For the first time since 1903 the Senior TT has had to be cancelled due to weather and track conditions. The track was inspected and deemed not to be suitable for racing.

With the 2012 Isle of Man TT wound up early, it left John McGuiness as the Joey Dunlop TT Championship Trophy outright winner with 74 points, having finished first in the superbike TT, first in the Superstock TT, fourth in the first Supersport TT and fifth in the second Supersport TT.

Expatriate Wellington rider Bruce Anstey (pictured above) was overall runner-up for the event, with 67 points, thanks to his winning the first Supersport TT (his ninth career TT win since 2002), finishing third in the Superbike TT, finishing fourth in the Superstock TT and fourth in the second Supersport TT.

Although the event was cut short, it was not before the supersport boys had strutted their stuff in their second outing around the notorious public road circuit, Irishman Michael Dunlop winning the race.

Dunlop’s win in the second of the two Supersport races at the weekend gave him his third Isle of Man TT win.

The Ardna Mara Homes/McAdoo Racing rider won the 2012 event’s second Monster Energy Supersport race by 13 seconds over Cameron Donald.

Dunlop took over the lead halfway through the first lap when his brother William Dunlop pulled out. From there he gradually pulled away from Donald who took his third runner-up finish of the week.

The battle for third went all the way to the chequered flag with Ryan Farquhar getting the better of New Zealander Anstey by just .01 of a second.

The decision to hold the race later in the evening clearly paid dividends as the clouds gave way to clear blue skies and sunshine, though it did present its usual hazard of bright sun from the Union Mills to Ballacraine section. Lack of adhesion flags were also being displayed at Glen Helen and Governor’s Bridge where a few damp patches remained.

It was 6.25pm when McGuinness headed off down Bray Hill, but at Glen Helen it was William Dunlop who led, the Wilson Craig Honda rider ready to improve upon his third-place finish two days ago. He led Michael Dunlop by 2.6 seconds with Donald a second back with James Hillier third. Anstey and McGuinness held onto fifth and sixth.

William Dunlop didn’t get far, pulling off retiring at Kirk Michael. From there it was all Michael Dunlop as he extended his lead over Donald to seven seconds at Glen Helen on the second lap with the same gap back to Anstey in third. Meanwhile, Farquhar had opened up a gap over Hillier and was now closing in on McGuinness for fourth.

With the fastest lap of the race at 125.629 mph, Dunlop extended his lead throughout the final lap to take his second Supersport win and third TT win in total, his eventual winning margin being 13.26 seconds. Donald was secure in second but Farquhar had to race all the way to the bitter end and he got the better of Anstey for the final podium spot by just .01 of a second.

McGuinness had to settle for fifth.

Anstey had earlier won his 9th TT win, taking victory in the first supersport race, and also finished third in the Superbike TT last week.

Anstey’s win in the first Monster Energy Supersport race on Monday was one of the most thrilling races in Isle of Man TT history.

He won the race by just 0.77s from fellow Antipodean rider Donald.

Once long time leader Michael Dunlop retired on the third lap, there was never more than a couple of seconds between Anstey, Donald and Gary Johnson with only the smallest margin – 0.62s – separating the trio at Ramsey Hairpin on the final lap.

However, Johnson ran out of fuel on the final drop down the Mountain and Anstey’s final lap of 126.634mph was enough for him to come home for his 9th TT win, 10 years after his first back in 2002.

A road traffic accident caused a two hour delay to proceeding but, with conditions all around the Mountain Course perfect, when it did it was the two Dunlops, Michael and William that were fastest out of the blocks. Michael led through Glen Helen on the opening lap – albeit by just 0.25s and, in typical Supersport fashion, it was close across the top 10. Johnson was in third, 1.5s adrift, and he was followed by Donald, Anstey, Farquhar and McGuinness with just a further 1.5s splitting 3rd to 7th.

Michael Dunlop was really pressing on and with a lead of 5.48s at Ramsey, it was almost inevitable he would lead at the end of the opening lap and this he duly did. A lap of 126.258mph gave him a 10.07s lead over new second place rider Donald with William just 0.35s back in third. Johnson, Anstey and local hope Dan Kneen completed the top six but it was still close with only six seconds separating second to eighth. One man not in the mix though was Guy Martin, the Tyco Suzuki rider pulling in at the end of the first lap and with Conor Cummins having again withdrawn from the day’s racing, it wasn’t a good day for the Irish team.

Irish eyes were smiling on Michael Dunlop though at the head of the field and with the fastest lap of the race, 126.948mph, his lead increased to almost 22 seconds at half race distance. Johnson took over the runner-up spot when they came into the pits to refuel and William was still in third with Anstey now up to fourth ahead of Donald. Kneen, McGuinness and Farquhar were still in contention and despite 75 miles having been completed, there was still only 11 seconds separating the seven riders in 2nd to 8th.

Things began to change on the third lap and when Michael Dunlop was reported late Glen Helen, it handed the lead to Johnson with an advantage of 3.5s over new second placed man Donald. Anstey was a further second back and William Dunlop a similar gap behind in fourth. McGuinness had overhauled Kneen by 0.3s to move into fifth whilst news came through that Michael Dunlop had stopped at Ballig Bridge.

As the leaders tore around the final 37.73 miles, positions were changing at almost every timing point and although the order remained the same at Ramsey, the gap between the trio was now a mere 0.62s. The race was anyone’s but at the Bungalow, Anstey had taken over the lead as Johnson dropped back but as Donald crossed the line first, the result was still in doubt. Anstey flashed over the line to grab the win from Donald by 0.77s, the second closest finish after Mark Baldwin’s 0.6s victory over the late Mick Lofthouse in 1995.

Johnson was in trouble though and as he ran out of fuel on the drop down the Mountain, he pushed in to eventually finish in 28th place and William Dunlop took advantage to clinch the final podium spot, his first top-three finish around the Mountain Course. Farquhar overtook McGuinness as he circulated with Donald but the Irishman also ran out of fuel on the final lap at Creg ny Baa and so McGuinness took fourth ahead of James Hillier, who recorded his best ever TT finish, and the consistent Ian Lougher.

Roy Richardson, the first of the privateers, was a hundredth of a second back in seventh with the top ten completed by Dan Stewart, Ian Hutchinson and Ivan Lintin, the latter posting his best ever TT finish as well as a first ever 120mph+ lap. Daniel Cooper also had a great ride in 11th while other high profile retirements including Ben Wylie and Dean Harrison.