AMATEUR motorbike racers did the region proud by going full-throttle for podium finishes on the Isle of Man.

Ripon rider Matt Stevenson finished first in the Manx GP Senior Race in what was just his second year riding the course.

He finished ahead of his The People’s Bike team-mate, Stephen Parsons, who is originally from Kendal but now also lives in Ripon.

Mr Stevenson, who claimed the top spot on a Yamaha R6, said he didn’t expect to win, but his impressive qualifying times pushed him up the field and it was then that he started to believe he could make the podium.

He said: “Because it is a time-trial race I had to wait for the other riders to finish to see whether I’d won.

“But I sort of knew for the last half lap that I was going to be on the podium at least, and hopefully win it.”

Mr Stevenson, 24, knew that his closest rival was his team-mate who was recording fast times on his Kawasaki ZX6.

“I didn’t really mind if I was first or second to be fair,” said Mr Stevenson, “He is a good mate of mine and we’re both on the same team.”

Meanwhile, Jack Fowler, from Yarm competed in his first Manx Grand Prix as a Newcomer, and also took part in the Lightweight MGP race later in the week.

The 26-year-old, who started racing in 2015, came fourth in the Newcomer race and 16th in the Lightweight race, despite nearly running out of fuel.

His desire to race around the mountain course started around 15 years ago, when he visited the event as an 11-year-old – 38 years after his dad had competed in the race.

“I was over the moon to finish fourth - if someone offered me that place at the start of the week I would have taken it,” said Mr Fowler.

“However my competitive side was slightly disappointed to just miss out on the podium.”

Rain threatened to disrupt the event and caused major problems for the riders who were desperate for track experience to learn the 37-mile course for the first time.

But despite the difficult preparations, Mr Fowler manage to qualify sixth fastest for his debut race.