Road Racing: Michael Dunlop wins his 23rd TT

Michael Dunlop wins the Superbike TT allowing him to match John McGuinness with 23 TT wins.

David Johnson led the field away for the opening Superbike TT of the year. It was glorious conditions on Sunday afternoon, with perfect track conditions for lap records. 

Dean Harrison led in the early stages of the race. However, Michael Dunlop quickly got into his rhythm and attempted to create a gap. Davey Todd had an impressive start to his Superbike TT, battling for third position with Hickman.

From a standing start, Michael Dunlop set a lap speed of 134.519mph from a standing start on the opening lap. Dean Harrison continued the opening stint of his race in second position on the DAO Racing Kawasaki. Peter made his way through some traffic on the opening two laps after starting 10^th on the road. 

Dunlop was increasing his lead by one second in every sector, with Harrison and Hickman showing no response.

Dean Harrison was the first rider to make his pitstop, with a visor change for the Kawasaki rider. Dunlop, Hickman, and McGuinness were some of the riders who also pitted, with Dunlop having a slower stop.

For the first time in this race, Dean Harrison was the fastest rider through the Ballaugh sector, allowing Harrison to reduce the race lead. At Ballaugh Bridge, it was Peter Hickman who was fastest on lap three, proving that we had a race on our hands.

Hickman running into issues

Peter Hickman looked to not be fully comfortable onboard the FHO BMW machine after three laps. Hickman had a suspected quickshifter issue during the race. Hickman continued to show his bravery, inches away while passing Hillier at over 150mph. 

Davey Todd retired from the Superbike TT after pulling into the pits at the end of lap three onboard the Padgetts machine. Todd was in disbelief at the DNF, crushing his hopes of a podium.

Michael Dunlop’s lead was now 21.438 seconds from Dean Harrison, with Hickman sitting comfortably in third. James Hillier was a further minute behind, just 10 seconds ahead of Jamie Coward. Both Hillier and Coward were following each other around the course, allowing Coward to have a marker.

It was time for the second wave of pitstops of the Superbike TT, with Dean having a helmet and rear tyre change. Dunlop had a lengthy pitstop time again, with Michael Dunlop having the slowest pitstop out of the six riders. 

The gap was now less than 20 seconds from Dunlop to Harrison, with Hickman beginning to close in on Harrison. Hickman looked much more comfortable in the closing stages of the race after the second pitstop.

Dean Harrison was also beginning to close in on the race leader as Dunlop began to bring it home. Hillier managed to extend a gap on Coward after having a slower second pitstop.

The riders headed onto the last lap around the 37.73-mile Isle of Man TT course, where Michael Dunlop continued to lead. John McGuinness had a quiet but consistent race and sat in sixth place.

Dean Harrison was held up on the final lap of the race after he was unable to pass two riders. This allowed Peter Hickman to make his way into second position, overtaking Harrison on times.

Peter Hickman had an incredible final lap of the race, reducing the gap to the race leader Michael Dunlop. Hickman’s final lap was spectacular, and he was on the pace to claim a new lap record.

Dunlop wins

At the line, it was Michael Dunlop who took his 23^rd Isle of Man TT win, equalling John McGuinness. Dunlop won by just 8.233 seconds after an incredible final lap from Peter Hickman. Dean Harrison rounded out the podium after a fantastic opening Superbike race of the year.

James Hillier finished ahead of Jamie Coward in fourth after their incredible race-long battle.  John McGuinness ended the race in sixth position and congratulated Dunlop in matching his win record. Josh Brookes ended a quiet race in seventh, where the Australian set his personal best lap on the last lap.

Dominic Herbertson was delighted with eighth, finishing ahead of Michael Rutter onboard the Honda RC213V-S. Shaun Anderson rounded out the top 10 I b the opening Superbike TT of the year, where things are just starting to heat up.

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Image credit: iomttraces.com