Final-Lap Thriller Decides the 2025 Senior Manx Grand Prix
The curtain came down on the 2025 Manx Grand Prix with the race every rider dreams of winning: the Senior. Over its long history, this race has crowned legends of the Mountain Course – names like Geoff Duke, Phil Read, Ryan Farquhar, Davey Morgan, Nick Jefferies, Gary Carswell, Malachi Mitchell-Thomas, Michael Russell, and Michael Evans, who still holds the outright lap record for the Manx GP. Evans’ 2017 lap of 18:25.49 at an average speed of 122.866mph on the Martin Bullock Racing Suzuki GSXR750 remains a benchmark of brilliance. To lift the Senior trophy is to etch your name into that lineage of greats.
Under the current “next generation supersport” rules – adopted for 2025 to bring MGP in line with the TT, BSB, and the Southern 100 – the Senior sits as the most prestigious four-lap, 150.92-mile test of rider, machine, and stamina. The outright course record may still belong to Evans, but the class record is in the hands of Joe Yeardsley, who stunned the paddock as a newcomer in 2023 with a lap of 122.051mph (18:32.882) on his Yamaha R6.
If 2024’s Senior was marred by weather – shortened to just two laps in a schedule battered by delays, where Daniel Ingham triumphed by almost 40 seconds – then 2025 was the opposite. Blue skies, warm air, and a huge Bank Holiday Monday crowd at the Grandstand set the stage for what became one of the closest and most dramatic Senior races in MGP history.
Early Drama – Cook Sets the Pace
At 14:15 sharp, the Senior got underway. Jamie Williams, already a double winner that week, carried the No. 1 plate on his JLG/NCE Racing Honda and was the first to launch down Bray Hill. Chasing him were 2024 Senior runner-up Chris Cook (No. 2), 2018 double winner Andy Farrell (No. 3), Adrian Harrison (No. 4, brother of TT star Dean), and a quality pack including Michael Rees, Craig Szczypek, 2024 standout Johnny Stewart, and Junior podium finisher Michael Gahan.
Cook was on it from the very first split, taking the lead at Glen Helen by 2.84 seconds over Stewart, with Caomhan Canny (No. 16) a whisker behind. Williams was just a few tenths further back in fourth. By Ramsey, Cook had extended his advantage to over five seconds, with Williams climbing into third.
At the end of lap one, Cook had even passed Williams on the road – a psychological marker – and banged in a standing-start lap of 120.595mph (18:46.313). Canny, in second, broke the 120mph barrier for the first time in his career with a 120.229mph lap, a milestone he had narrowly missed in Saturday’s Supersport race. With that, he became the 35th rider in history to join the “Tommy Club,” reserved for those who lap the Mountain Course at over 120mph during the MGP. Williams sat third, Stewart fourth, with Don Gilbert and Ryan Whitehall rounding out the top six.
Local newcomer Grant Thomson’s promising week came to an early end with a spectacular coolant leak at Quarter Bridge, while Manx crowd favourite Dan Sayle – eight-time TT Sidecar winner and two-time MGP victor – retired at the Bungalow on lap one.
Lap Two – Cook Lays Down a Marker
On the second circuit, Cook continued his relentless pace. By Ballaugh, his advantage had grown to nearly nine seconds. At the Bungalow, he was 11 clear, and at the end of lap two he clocked the fastest lap of the week: 120.994mph (18:42.60). Canny responded with a 120.424mph lap (18:47.91), keeping himself in contention, while Williams was slipping back but still holding third.
Then came the all-important pit stops. Cook’s stop lasted 54.41 seconds – steady but not spectacular. Canny’s team nailed their work in 46.53, clawing back nearly eight seconds. Williams’ crew took 50.84, delayed while checking fluid pooling in the belly pan. The fastest stop of the race belonged to newcomer Brandon Kavanagh of the Roadhouse Macau Team, who was lightning-quick at 43.33 seconds. Pit lane was busy with drama too: Owen Monaghan overshot his pit box, losing vital seconds, while Emmett Burke and Peter Lionel both picked up 30-second penalties for speeding.
Veteran Farrell, clearly uncomfortable with rib injuries from Saturday, rolled into the pits, shook his head, and retired – a sad end to his comeback but one that earned respect from the paddock.
Lap Three – The Chase is On
Cook still held control at the start of lap three, but Canny’s quicker stop had cut the gap. Through Glen Helen, Ballaugh, and Ramsey, the margins shifted, and by the end of the lap the lead was down to 5.68 seconds. Williams, more than half a minute adrift, was visibly riding within himself, determined to nurse the bike to the finish.
The stage was set for a final-lap showdown between Cook, the consistent front-runner, and Canny, the hard-charging Irishman who smelled blood.
Lap Four – A Historic Finish
At Ballaugh on the final lap, Cook looked to have things in hand, extending his lead back to 8.49 seconds. But Canny was not done. By Ramsey the deficit was down to 6.31. The crowd at the Grandstand leaned forward, straining for updates from the Bungalow. When the times came in, the atmosphere erupted – the gap had shrunk to just 4.07 seconds. Canny was absolutely flying.
Behind them, Williams’ grip on third was loosening, Whitehall cutting the gap to less than half a second.
At Cronk ny Mona, with only a handful of corners left, the gap at the front was down to 1.73 seconds. Whitehall meanwhile had finally overhauled Williams, but only by two-tenths. The tension at the Grandstand was electric as eyes searched the horizon for the leaders.
Cook crossed the line first on the road with a final lap of 120.181mph (18:50.19), his team cheering but nervously glancing at the timing screens. Williams came through next with a 119mph lap, briefly regaining third on the road. But all eyes were on No. 16.
Then came the roar: Canny had done it. His final lap – a blistering 120.846mph (18:43.97) – was almost seven seconds faster than Cook’s, overturning the deficit and handing him victory by just 0.52 seconds. Williams, digging deep in the last sector, snatched the final podium spot back from Whitehall by just 0.007 of a second – one of the narrowest margins ever seen at the MGP.
The Aftermath – Relief, Heartbreak, and Celebration
Cook, who had led almost from the drop of the flag, was heartbroken. He wheeled his bike into second place in the winners’ enclosure, head down, visibly gutted by how close he had come. Williams, remarkably on the podium for the fourth time that week, admitted the bike had been difficult to handle and praised both Canny and Cook for their performances.
But the day belonged to Canny. The 30-year-old from Gleneely, Ireland, a relative newcomer to the Mountain Course, sat on his machine in disbelief, head resting on the tank after a celebratory burnout. He was quickly embraced by teammate James Walsh, who hobbled across on crutches after his own injury earlier in the week, embodying the camaraderie that runs deep in road racing.
“It still doesn’t feel real,” Canny admitted afterwards. “The lads in the pits were fantastic, and the sunshine this week made all the difference. I never expected this – a second place and a win in the same week. Now it’s back to the national roads at home, and maybe the TT if the chance comes.”
One for the History Books
Canny’s victory will be remembered not only for the razor-thin margin but also for the sheer drama of the chase. The finish ranks among the closest in MGP history, rivaling Craig Atkinson’s unforgettable win over Derek Brien in the 2006 Junior Manx Grand Prix, where they fought wheel-to-wheel for four laps before Atkinson edged it by just 0.01 seconds.
In the record books, Cook’s 164.884mph blast through Sulby remains the fastest speed of the race, but it was Canny’s flawless final lap – and a pit stop nearly eight seconds quicker than Cook’s – that sealed the deal.
As the sun dipped over Douglas Bay, the 2025 Manx Grand Prix signed off with the kind of finish that encapsulates the spirit of road racing: courage, heartbreak, glory, and history written in tenths of a second.
Images MANX MOTOR CYCLE CLUB
