The first day of racing at the TT this year turned out to be a very frustrating one for everyone concerned, as racing did not get underway until 6pm - 6 hours after schedule.The weather this morning had looked promising but mist descended over the hills and the organisers delayed racing from 12 until 1 in the hope that it would lift. These delays continued throughout the day until 3.15 when it was annouced that racing would finally take place at 5.30pm after a two lap practice for the solos. The 6-lap superbike race was scrapped until tomorrow, Mad Sunday, but the hope was to run the sidecars in the early evening today at 5.30.The practice lap got underway at 4pm and was all finished by 5. As the session was untimed due to the prevailing weather conditions, many riders made leisurely starts from the Grandstand and a few even impressed the crowd with wheelies in front of the Scoreboards! After a further delay to racing at 5.05, it was eventually announced that the Sidecars would be starting at 6pm.Dave Molyneux and Dan Sayle led the field away, these two were fastest in practice with their staggering lap last night (Friday) of 19 minutes 31 seconds. Following them were another leading local crew, Nick Crowe and Darren Hope. Team Lockside pairing Steve Norbury and Andy Smith went at number 3, followed by TT Veterans Roy Hanks and Dave Wells.Amongst the non-starters were Gary Horspole and Mark Cox after their spill on Tuesday night, although the other outfit invloved in that incident, (17) Nigel Connole and Dennis Lowther, did start the race. They were later to retire at the pits after lap 1. The full list of non-starters was: 5, 59, 63, 66, 69 and 72.The vast majority of the field had got away from the startline before a double bout of drama struck. Firstly, newcomers Karl Bennett and Stu Bainborough (56) had a nightmare start to their TT race Careers when their chain snapped - quite literally 20 yards from the start. They pulled into the pit lane but were unable to restart the race and therefore became the first retirement. Crew 71 (Ruth Laidlow and Ian Simmons) also suffered a moment of anxiety when they stalled on the line, but to their credit were quick to restart the bike and were soon away.At Glen Helen on Lap 1 it was Molyneux and Sayle who held an 11 second advantage over Crowe and Hope in second place. Norbury was third, but Hanks and Wells pulled in with problems. They made adjustments before continuing, but were later to retire when still on Lap 1. By Ramsey, 10-time winner Moly had increased the gap to 31 seconds, with Norbury/Smith now second and Crowe/Hope a further 6 seconds adrift.Past the Grandstand at the end of Lap 1 it was Moly who held a 48 second advantage over Crowe with Norbury third and John Holden/Jamie Winn (14) in 4th position. Also going well were Phil Dongworth/Stuart Castles (8) and Ben Dixon/Mark Lambert (6.) Simon Neary and Stuart Bond defied their start number of 24 by being inside the top 10, whilst (18) Roger Stockton/Peter Alton from Crewe had also made up time on those ahead of them. Klaus Klaffenbock (10) was having a steady race but (7) Gary Bryan/Colin Hardman ( a former passenger to Dave Molyneux) were struggling, their bike sounding very unhealthy, as were Greg Lambert and Rick Long who were 10th.Onto Lap 2 then and at the Glen Molyneux had further extended the advantage to 57 seconds over Norbury, who was enjoying a close dice with Crowe. Shock news then when Molyneux retired at the top of Barregarrow, leaving Norbury in the lead with Crowe second and Holden 3rd! On the run to Ramsey, Norbury and Smith held their advantage and were 5 seconds up on Crowe at the Hairpin - indeed the Manx crew were in their sights due to the 10-second difference in their starting times. Crowe lead on the road by 5 seconds but it was Norbury by 5 on corrected time. Holden was still third albeit 23 seconds adrift of Crowe.End of Lap 2 and Norbury had increased the advantage to 6.5 seconds at the Grandstand although Crowe was still first on the road. Crowe's pitboard read 'Nick, faster!' in obvious encouragement as this was a great chance to claim a popular win. John Holden maintained station in 3rd, 31 seconds behind Crowe, with Phil Dongworth 4th, Tony Baker/Mark Hegerty (number 12) in 5th position and Ben Dixon 6th. Gary Bryan and Colin Hardman (7) pulled in to retire at the end of Lap 2, apparantly with engine trouble. Other crews to retire on this lap included Howard Baker/Mike Killingsworth (20) and newcomers Thomas and Rupert Guest (64) with their distinctive 'Army' sidecar.Les Harah/David Walker (53) had a 'horror' crash at Parliament Square in Ramsey and were both taken to hospital with 'multiple injuries.' Let us hope that they are o.k. and recovering - more news soon.On the final lap, Norbury was beginning to pull further away from Crowe on time (but closer on the road!) as the gap was 7 seconds at Glen Helen. John Holden was almost a minute behind, but still going well and looking good for a first-ever podium at the TT. Crowe clearly took heed of his pitboard as by Ramsey, he and Norbury could not be separated on time as they began their final ascent of the mountain. With the lights on at Cronk-ny-Mona, it was nailbiting stuff amid reports that Norbury had been held up at the Creg by backmarkers Laidlow and Simmons. As Andy Fearn stepped out onto Glencrutchery Road, it was Crowe and Hope who took the chequered flag to win by just 2.3 seconds with Norbury an agonising second. After a couple of minutes' wait, Holden and Winn crossed the line for a brilliant third place.Phil Dongworth held onto his 4th position for the last 2 laps and was followed by Simon Neary who pipped Tony Baker for 5th. Baker in turn ousted Ben Dixon who had held 6th on lap 2. Stockton/Alton and Klaffenbock/Parzer also finished well up the order - Klaffi claiming 8th place, and Stockton possibly 9th (although I can't confirm this as the results haven't been published yet. Keep an eye on www.iomtt.com)Newcomers last year Mark Halliday and Mark Holland (44) also made up lots of time on crews in front and finished in between some of the early 30s. Mick Harvey and passenger (11) had to push their outfit home from (at least) Governors Dip and recieved a well-deserved round of applause from the spectators as they limped across the line. Lars Schwartz and Dickie Gale (30) seemed as delighted as anyone to finish, and local driver Glyn Jones (22, Team DSC Racing) seemed chuffed too as he crossed the line. Claude Montagnier and Laurent Seyeux (57) made the most noise as they roared through to complete their race, with their unique whistling exhaust which seems to vibrate at a frequency much higher to anyone else's!Fastest lap of the race went to (1) Molyneux and Sayle at 20m 12.8s on Lap 1.For a full list of finishers, log on to www.iomtt.com and follow the links. The next outing for the slideys will be a 1 Lap practice on Monday after racing has been completed. Their second and final race is on Wednesday afternoon and is due to get underway at 1.15pm.The TT Superbike race will now be run tomorrow (Sun 5th June) at 2pm, over 6 laps, WEATHER PERMITTING!