Road Racing: Benchmark set in opening TT race day

Conditions were perfect for the first day of racing at the 2023 Isle of Man TT where Dunlop and the Birchall brothers would shine.

Supersport

The opening race of this year’s TT was the Monster Energy Supersport Race 1 with a highly competitive field. Conditions were near perfect in a delayed start to the opening race of the year.

David Johnson was first on the road, with Dean Harrison starting behind him in second onboard the R6. Michael Dunlop would start the race in sixth, with Dunlop entering as a race favourite.

Dean Harrison would lead early on at Glen Helen on the opening lap, leading the way by 0.550 seconds from Michael Dunlop. Peter Hickman, Davey Todd, and James Hillier were behind in third, fourth, and fifth. 

The lead would change at Ballaugh, with Dunlop stretching out a 1.571-second lead from Dean Harrison. Peter Hickman continued his run in third place, a. further two seconds behind. Jamie Coward was the man on the move onboard the KTS Racing machine and moved his way into fourth. 

Dunlop extends his lead

Dunlop would continue to extend his lead, with the top five riders of Dunlop, Harrison, Hickman, Coward, and Todd continuing to set the pace. James Hind and Paul Jordan began to make positions in seventh and eighth.

At the end of lap one Dunlop extended his lead from Harrison to 5.488 seconds, continuing his dominance. Peter Hickman began to lose touch in third, onboard the 750cc Triumph Daytona. James Hillier began to close the gap to fifth, with less than a second separating Todd and Hillier.

As the race continued, Dunlop continued to extend the gap to Harrison to 13.445 seconds on the second lap. Michael Dunlop would also have the fastest pitstop after a 51.502-second pitstop.

Rob Hodson and David Johnson were in their own battle further down the field as they battled for eighth position.

On lap three, the gap extended once again to 17.528 seconds from Michael Dunlop to Dean Harrison. The fastest bike in the speed traps were mixed, with Dunlop’s Yamaha R6, and Davey Todd’s Honda CBR600RR fighting for the top spot.

Newcomer Ryan Cringle had an incredible start to his TT debut and sat in 23^rd position in lap three. Cringle has been on the pace all week, setting an impressive 117.979mph on his debut TT. 

The race continued to go the way of Michael Dunlop, where at the line, he would take the race win by 12.329 seconds. Peter Hickman managed to clinch second place after an incredible final lap. This dropped Dean Harrison down to third position in his first TT with the Russell Racing team.

Jamie Coward and Davey Todd would round out the top five after an impressive ride in the opening race day. 

Sidecar

It was time for the opening Sidecar race of this year’s TT, where we celebrate 100 years of Sidecar racing on the Isle of Man. Ben and Tom Birchall lead early on in the race by 3.962 seconds. Behind the brother pairing was Peter Founds and Jevan Walmsley, with Callum and Ryan Crowe in third.

John Holden and Maxime Vasseur sat in fifth, with Daryl Gibson and Tom Christe rounding out the top five.

By the end of the lap, the gap between the Birchall brothers and Peter Founds and Jevan Walmsley would reduce. The gap was reduced, showing that we have a race on our hands in the 3wheeling.media Sidecar TT. 

Ryan and Callum Crowe would retire on lap two, bringing a disappointing end to their weekend. The Crowe team were in third position, allowing John Holden and Maxime Vasseur to claim the third.

Ben and Tom Birchall were on an incredible lap, extending their race lead in nearly every sector. At the line, the Birchall brothers produced a spectacular lap time, allowing the pairing to claim the first 120mph Sidecar lap. With a lap speed of 120.357mph, everyone around the course’s jaws dropped.

This lap gave the Birchall brothers confidence until the end, allowing them to extend their lead to a spectacular 24 seconds. It was an extraordinary race, with Ben and Tom Birchall taking the race win from Peter Founds and Jevan Walmsley. John Holden and Maxime Vasseur managed to hold onto third in the opening Sidecar race of the year.

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Image credits: iomttraces.com