TT2012: Fireblade an 'animal' on Mountain course, says Cooper

British championship challenger Dan Cooper admits he is taking time to adjust to the 1000cc Honda Fireblade in practice at the Isle of Man TT races this week.

However, the Centurion Racing rider is beginning to up his pace on the Mountain course and has equalled his best time from 2011 as he prepares for the first Superbike race on Saturday.

Cooper, who competes in the British Supersport series, said: "The biggest challenge has been getting used to the big bike again as I haven't ridden it since this time last year.

"It takes a few sessions to get back into riding the 1000 and getting used to the speed as it's a bit of an animal around here compared to the Supersport machine.

"The lap speeds have been good from the very first session and to lap at 122mph on Wednesday evening was brilliant," he added.

"I've practically matched my personal best already so it bodes really well for the rest of the fortnight."

Cooper has also lapped at 117mph on his Triumph in the Supersport class, in spite of experiencing 'mapping issues' with the machine.

"We've had a few mapping issues with the Triumph but it was a lot better on Wednesday and I was happy enough with a 117mph lap.

"There's more to come but we'll just keep chipping away at what we're doing and continue to make good progress.

"It feels great to be back riding at the TT with Centurion Racing and I absolutely love the place. There's no better place to ride a bike than around the Mountain Course," he added.

"I've loved it right from when I first came here in 2010 and it's definitely been a case of 'so far, so good' this week."