Rowlinson makes history on a bike

JOHN ROWLINSON made history at the opening hill climb of 2012 by recording the fastest time of the day - on two wheels.

It is believed to be the first time that a motorbike has achieved the coveted FTD, after a day of constant rain saw times drop as a direct result.

That bunched up a number of racers and although, as expected, no existing class records were broken, it was a dramatic day, with Rowlinson's best time of 37.69sec. coming in the dying stages.

He was delighted to be the man to beat, admitting that he and the other bike riders have more of an advantage in rain.