Lee Johnston gave Aprilia its best ever TT result and second podium with his second place finish in Wednesday’s Supertwin TT race.

The result bettered the third place achieved by John McGuinness on a 250cc Aprilia in the 1997 Lightweight 250cc race.
 
Fourth fastest in practice on the RS660, Johnston was expecting to run in a similar position, at best, during the race due to the pace of the two Patons of eventual race winner Peter Hickman and Michael Dunlop and the Kawasaki of Jamie Coward.
 
But with both Dunlop and Coward retiring, the County Fermanagh man came through for second place and his sixth TT rostrum in total. His quickest lap, 117.285mph, on the Ashcourt Racing machine came on the third and final lap, a combination of conserving fuel and strong winds over the Mountain keeping his speed down.
 
“Before the race I genuinely knew Peter, Michael and Jamie had more pace than me,” he said. “But equally, I knew the bikes were running right at their edge and getting to the end would be key.
 
“The bike’s lacking a bit of top speed compared to the other machines but when we get it sorted, we should be ok. We were a bit tight on fuel so I eased off on the last lap, rolling off in places to make sure we made it home.
 
“I’m happy for the whole team as it’s been a tough week so it’s good to turn it around.”