BILL Swallow and Mike Hose have taken hold of the Pre-TT Classic Road Races’ all-time win record as they made it a total of 16 each in the final races of the meeting today.
And while winning a race in your 70s is no simple task, former high school teacher Swallow made it look easy with a nearly three-second victory in the A D Hewitt Dental Practice 850cc Race over Steve Ferguson and Dominic Herbertson.
The 850cc victory gave the Yorkshireman the edge on long-standing record holder Bob Heath, whose tally Swallow matched back at the 2012 meeting.
Trudging on his coattails was Merseyside’s Mike Hose, who entered the meeting with 14 wins to his name, but quickly matched Heath’s 15 aboard an Ariel Arrow in today’s second scrap – the Quine & Cubbon Printers Lightweight Race – nearly two seconds ahead of Brian Mateer and Jeff Ward.
A glass ceiling looked to be sitting above the number 15 once again this year until Swallow eclipsed Heath and Hose with his 16th, becoming the new (and sole) record holder… for about half an hour.
Hose lined up for his final battle of the day in the Manx Environmental Services 350cc Junior race, and it was a best of the rest race as he set a fastest lap nearly 2.5 seconds quicker than anyone else on the grid, on the way to a 10-second victory from 12-time winner Alan Oversby and Barry Davidson in third.
In dominant fashion with his second win of the day, the double-victor joins Swallow in the Southern 100 Road Racing record-books as co-holder of the most wins at the Pre-TT Classic Road Races.
*Image: Southern 100 Road Races
*Click here for the full results round-up from the Pre-TT Classic Road Races
