TT 2022: Coward ‘good to go’ on small bikes, struggling with R1 front

With just one qualifying session to go at TT 2022, Jamie Coward features prominently on all four solo leaderboards with the KTS Racing powered by Steadplan rider running inside the top eight in each class.

As expected, perhaps, the Supersport and Supertwin categories are where the 2019 TT Privateer’s Champion has shone the most with laps of 125.213mph and 119.775mph respectively putting him third overall in both divisions. “Everything’s gone pretty well during the week and the Supersport and Supertwin bikes are good to go already,” the Hebden Bridge rider said. “I’m more than happy with how they’re performing and the lap times I’ve done. “I’ve done what I need to do this week with the R6 so we’ll prep that for the race while my lap of almost 120mph on the Twin was from a standing start. We know we’ll be there come race day so we’re going to leave them both now for the races and focus on the R1.” One of the few riders to campaign the R1 Yamaha, and the fastest ever around the Mountain Course on one, Coward and his team are running theirs in Superstock trim this year but a lap of 128.190mph shows their undoubted potential with them firmly knocking on the door of the top six, something they hope will become reality once they get the set-up firmly dialled in. “The Yamaha’s not traditionally been the ‘go to’ big bike at the TT and I’ve been struggling a bit with the handling at the front. It’s a bit nervous over the bumps and moving around more than I’d like particularly from Ginger Hall to Ramsey. We all know how bumpy it is through but the feel through there’s not quite as good as previous years. “We keep making changes and although we went in the wrong direction on Thursday evening, I almost matched my best time from the