Road Racing: Magical Michael Dunlop shows record pace

Michael Dunlop ends the final day of qualifying as the fastest rider ever to lap around the Isle of Man TT course.

All talk was on Michael Dunlop on Friday, in the final Superbike qualifying session of the week. Dunlop set a lap speed of 135.531mph, lapping faster than the previous lap record set in 2018 by Peter Hickman. This set a brand-new unofficial lap record, leaving every fan around the 37.73-mile course.

Peter Hickman was second at the end of the final qualifying session, setting a blistering quick lap of 134.91mph. Hickman was just 4.612 seconds behind Dunlop, with a lap time of 16:46.801.

Dean Harrison was, as expected, in third position, showing great consistency throughout the week. Davey Todd and Padgetts had a great day, improving their times day on day. However, Conor Cummins would not be in action today as he recovers from an illness.

Josh Brookes ended his day in fifth, ahead of John McGuinness, who became the first rider over 50 years old to do a 130mph. Jamie Coward continued his pace in the Superbike class, ending the day with a 130.945mph lap in seventh.

Rob Hodson rounded out the top eight in an incredibly exciting final qualifying session in the Superbike class.

Superstock

Davey Todd was the fastest in the Superstock class, continuing to look far more comfortable in the Superstock class. Todd set a lap speed of 131.08mph, allowing him to have a time of 17:16.219. 

Mike Browne was a further 11.321 seconds behind, in second position onboard the RK Racing machine. James Hillier ended his day in third position, continuing to show his podium pace.

John McGuinness had a great performance, in fourth place after setting a 128.47mph lap speed. His close friend, Michael Rutter, was close behind in fifth, with the duo showing their TT knowledge and experience.

Craig Neve was in sixth place, ending the day ahead of Brian McCormack, who continues his relationship with the FHO team. Phil Crowe rounded out the top eight after setting a 125.348mph lap.

Supersport

It was Michael Dunlop who took the Supersport top spot once again, setting a lap speed of 127.51mph. Dunlop was 2.459 seconds ahead of Dean Harrison, with both riders breaking into the 17-minute bracket.

Davey Todd was a further 12.752 seconds behind in third position setting a time of 18:00.444 minutes onboard the Honda CBR600RR. Mike Browne was once again near the front, ending his day in fourth. Browne ended his day ahead of TT superstar Peter Hickman who was onboard the Triumph.

James Hillier was in sixth position, setting a speed of 124.761mph in the sunny Isle of Man conditions. Craig Neve had a quiet day, but Neve still managed to place himself in seventh position.

Dominic Herbertson ended the day in eighth onboard the Dafabet Racing machine in the Supersport class. He will switch teams after some mechanical issues with his Kawasaki on the opening days.

Supertwin

Michael Dunlop took his usual spot at the top of the time sheets onboard his Paton Supertwin. Dunlop set a lap speed of an incredible 123.474mph, allowing Dunlop to unofficially break the lap record. With a time of 18:20.052 minutes, it allowed Dunlop to go five seconds faster than the lap record.

Jamie Coward was in second position, improving on his pace and hoping to bring the fight to Dunlop. Mike Browne was behind in third, showing that he has the pace to fight for a podium at this year’s TT.

Pierre Yves Bian was a further 3.732 seconds behind onboard his VAS Engine powered Paton. British Superbike rider Josh Brookes ended the day in fifth after he continued to develop the Dafabet Supertwin.

Sidecars

Peter Founds and Jevan Walmsley were at the top of the Sidecar class for the first time this week. The duo set a time of 19:12.974 minutes, allowing the outfit to have an average lap speed of 117.807mph. 

Ryan and Callum Crowe were 13.408 seconds behind, continuing to slowly develop their confidence after a crash earlier on in the week. Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes claimed the third-place slot at the end of the fifth qualifying session. 

Reeves and Wilkes suffered from some technical issues forcing the outfit to pull in after the Bungalow. The Birchall brothers also had issues and were down in 24^th position after the final qualifying session after experiencing some issues.

For more TT content!

Image credit: iomttraces.com