Road Racing: Peter Hickman and Dunlop go head-to-head

Peter Hickman and Michael Dunlop would go head-to-head in Tuesday’s Superstock and Supertwin race.

From the opening lap, it was Peter Hickman who led the RL360 Superstock TT onboard the FHO BMW. He led from Michael Dunlop by less than three seconds at Ballaugh on the opening lap.

Dean Harrison was in third onboard the DAO Kawasaki, Harrison continued his consistency in this year’s Isle of Man TT. The Padgetts duo of Davey Todd and Conor Cummins rounded out the top five. Cummins made his TT return on Tuesday after spending time in hospital last week due to an illness.

Dominic Herbertson was the rider on the move, making his way inside the top 10. Herbertson has had a great TT so far, claiming his first 130mph lap speed in the Superbike race.

As the race progressed, Peter Hickman would extend his race lead to over five seconds over the next lap. Dunlop had no response after only setting four laps of practice onboard his Superstock bike. Dean Harrison continued his run in third position, a further 10 seconds behind.

Jamie Coward made his way inside the top five after overtaking Cummins and was just four seconds behind Davey Todd. John McGuinness and David Johnson were having their own battle for eighth place further down the field.

After the first and only pitstop during the Superstock TT, Hickman was flying, building a comfortable gap. This gap was briefly interrupted after Hickman was held up when passing some riders in front of him.

At the line, it was Hickman who took the race win by 23.171 seconds, beating Dunlop for the first time this year. Dunlop had no answer in the Superstock race, with room for improvement for later in the week. Dean Harrison was a further 14.827 seconds behind in third, finishing ahead of Davey Todd and James Hillier.

Supertwin

Michael Dunlop was starting sixth on the road but took the lead at Glen Helen onboard the Paton S1-R. Jamie Coward was Dunlop’s rival early in the race, a further four seconds behind. Peter Hickman has had issues all week onboard his PHR Racing Yamaha R7 but set off from 10^th on the road.

Mike Browne was a surprising contender for the Supertwin class and was in third at Glen Helen on the opening lap. Josh Brookes hoped to surprise in the Supertwin class and was fifth in the opening stages. 

Michael Rutter would soon come into the mix and sat in sixth position onboard the new Bathams Racing R7. Rutter was ahead of experienced road racers Pierre Yves Bian and Dominic Herbertson.

Many riders experienced issues within the race, with Paul Jordan retiring from the race in the early stages. Stefano Bonetti would also retire from the race after his Paton S1-R forced him to retire.

With just a three-lap race, the Supertwin pitstop consisted of just a refuel, with the rear tyre able to handle the whole race.

Michael Dunlop would consistently extend his gap, eventually creating a lead of 26.783 seconds. Mike Browne and Jamie Coward would battle to the line, with Browne pipping Coward for second. Peter Hickman ended the race in fourth, a good result on the developing R7.

Josh Brookes finished in fifth, onboard the Dafabet Kawasaki ER-650 and finished ahead of Pierre Yves Bian. Herbertson, Rutter, Baz Furber, and Rob Hodson rounded out the top 10 in the Supertwin class. 

Sadly, it was announced that Raul Torras Martinez had passed away after an incident on the final lap. The incident occurred at Alpine, between the 16^th and 17^th-mile marker on the TT course.

Image credit: iomttraces.com