Road Racing: Michael Dunlop dominates on day one

Michael Dunlop dominates proceedings on day one of the 2023 Isle of Man TT.

Day one of the 2023 Isle of Man TT is over, and it was Michael Dunlop who ended the day looking strongest. Dunlop enters this year’s TT with 21 wins to his name, looking to break records.

It was a dream start on Monday for Michael Dunlop in the Supertwin class, topping the session by almost 30 seconds. Dunlop’s lap on the Supertwin was so fast that it set a new unofficial lap record of 122.907.

Behind Dunlop was Jamie Coward on the KTS Racing Kawasaki machine, who showed great pace on the opening day. Brian McCormack was a further seven seconds behind in third, after setting a 118.971mph lap. Mike Brown and Dominic Herbertson rounded out the top five on the opening day.

Josh Brookes finished his first day on the Dafabet Racing machine in sixth position, racing for the Kawasaki Z650. Brookes will replace Gary Johnson at the TT after signing a last-minute deal with the team.

Supersport

In the Supersport class, it was once again Michael Dunlop who ended the day as the fastest rider. In race one last year, Dunlop set a new lap record in the Supersport class of 129.475mph. Peter Hickman was in second position at the end of day one, less than two seconds behind Dunlop. 

In third position was Dean Harrison, who had a strong opening day on the BPE / Russell Racing Yamaha R6. Davey Todd and Conor Cummins were in fifth and sixth, onboard the Padgetts Honda.

Superstock

Michael Dunlop was on fire in the Superstock class, ending the day as the fastest Superstock rider. Josh Brookes was a further 33.14 seconds behind Dunlop in second, after setting a lap speed of 126.404mph. Brookes will line up on the start line this season onboard the FHO BMW machine.

Phillip Crowe had a strong opening day in the Superstock class, finishing the day in third position. Mike Browne onboard the RK Racing BMW M1000RR machine finished the day in fourth. Davey Todd rounded out the top five, as he aims to improve after claiming his first TT podium last year.

Only 10 Superstock bikes took to the TT course on day one, with Erno Kostamo rounding out the field. Kostamo will make his TT debut this year, after winning last year’s Macau Grand Prix.

Superbike

Michael Dunlop was at the top in the Superbike class setting a time of 131.782mph on the opening day. Dunlop joins the Hawk Racing team on day one, racing the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade.

Dean Harrison was in second at the end of day one, with a speed of 131.674mph just behind Dunlop. Peter Hickman made history on the opening day, becoming the first rider to go over 200mph on Sulby Speed Trap. Hickman finished the day in third, a further three seconds behind Harrison.

John McGuinness was impressive on the opening day, showing his TT knowledge and experience to finish the day in fourth. McGuinness will be the only Honda Racing UK rider on the starting line after Nathan Harrison withdrew from the TT.

Michael Rutter would round out the top 10 in the Superbike class, with a lap speed of 125.888mph. The Superbike class was packed, with 38 bikes hitting the road on the opening day.

Sidecar

Peter Founds / Jevan Walmsley was the fastest Sidecar outfit on day one, with a lap speed of 117.431mph. In second were Ben and Tom Birchall, they were less than three seconds behind on the LCR Honda-powered outfit.

Ryan and Callum Crowe had an incident on day one at Laurel Bank, with the outfit clipping the inside banking. The team said: “Ryan and Callum have had a slight incident at Laurel Bank in this evening’s qualifying session, Ryan is good, the bike is good, and Callum is on the mend and getting ready to go again!”

Image credit: iomttraces.com