ULSTERMAN PHILLIP McCallen is hungry for further success in the 90th anniversary Isle of Man TT races after a run away success in Saturday's opening Formula One event.
The big test for the confident McCallen will come in tomorrow's four lap lightweight TT, a race the 33 year old Honda ace wants to win more than any other in a bid to put a troubled past behind him.
Twice he has run out of fuel when leading, and last year a cracked exhaust dropped him from first to fourth.
The Portadown rider said: "The 250 bike is probably the most temperamental to ride around here, but it went alright in practice and I put in a good time.
He is chasing an improbable pap hand of victories after rewriting the record books by becoming the first man to win four events in a year last term.
Now, spurred on by the thought of prize monies and bonuses totalling around £50,000, he is aiming to go one better.
His main rivals look to be Cardiff's Ian Lougher, who topped the practice leaderboard with a lap of 116.42mph, some five seconds faster than McCallen.
Meanwhile three times world champion Michael Doohan recorded his 38th career victory at the Austrian Grand Prix in Zeltweg yesterday and moved up to second place in the all time list of 500cc winners.
Only Italy's Giacomo Agostini with 68 wins remains ahead of the Australian Honda rider. However, Doohan said: "To have achieved 38 wins is fantastic.
Doohan's fourth victory of the season extended his lead in the standings over Spanish teammate Alex Criville to 31 points.
But despite his domination this season, Doohan is not yet thinking about the championship which would make him only the third rider after Agostini and Britain's Mike Hailwood to achieve four successive titles.
Doohan also posted the fastest lap of one minute 28.666 and broke the Al Ring's official lap record set by last year's winner Criville in 1996.
Tadaytiki Okada, Doohan's Japanese team mate, finished second, 22.077 seconds behind Doohan, with Italian Luca Cadalora, on a Yamaha, third, the only non Honda rider in the top six.
