Tyre selection became a gamble with the ever-changing weather conditions. With the front row electing intermediates, Chris Martin transformed his pole position into race lead on the opening lap. With Richards (Triumph) and Kennaugh (Yamaha) breathing down the neck of the Gearlink Kawasaki rider, a red flag incident involving Alan O’Connor brought proceeding s to an early halt at the start of lap four. Grid positions for the 12-lap restart were taken from the running order at the close of lap 2. Richards on the MAP Embassy Triumph stole the holeshot but was soon passed by a determined Hudson Kennaugh on the Raceways Yamaha YZF-R6. The South African quickly settled into a groove with Richards hanging on to his shirt-tail.