Isle of Man TT – Dunlop Wins 35th TT With Supersport Supremacy
Michael Dunlop (Scars Racing Ducati) took his 35th victory at the Isle of Man TT Races on Friday afternoon as he defeated Dean Harrison (Honda Racing UK) by 26.1s in the second Monster Energy Supersport race with Peter Hickman (Trooper Triumph by PHR Performance) once again completing the podium in third.
In a repeat of Tuesday’s race, Dunlop had to overhaul Harrison as the latter again came out of the blocks quickest, setting the fastest lap of the race at 129.218mph on lap one. However, Dunlop gained time at the pits and by Glen Helen on lap two had taken the lead for the first time, pulling away from there on in. It was Dunlop’s 54th TT podium in his 97th race start.
After an hour’s delay, the race got underway at 12.45pm under sunny skies although a strong breeze was prevalent and it was Harrison who led at Glen Helen first time around, his advantage over Dunlop 1.4s.
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Hickman was 2.7s further back in third as Paul Jordan (Jackson Racing powered by Prosper2 Ducati), Josh Brookes (Uggly & Co. Racing Suzuki), and Dominic Herbertson (KTS Macadam Triumph Factory Racing) completed the early top six although Mike Browne (Boyce Precision Engineering by Russell Racing Yamaha) wasn’t registering on the times at the first sector point due to an intermittent transponder. Just 1.4s covered the sixth to tenth placed riders.
Over Ballaugh Bridge for the first time, Harrison had added another half second to his lead with a sector time only 0.8s outside the quickest ever, set by Dunlop twelve months ago. Hickman had lost a bit of ground though, the Triumph rider now four seconds behind Dunlop.
By Ramsey Hairpin, Harrison’s lead went out to 2.6s, and Dunlop had also pulled further away from Hickman, with Jordan now only 2.6s adrift in fourth.
Harrison added another 1.2s to his lead on the climb up Snaefell, from Ramsey to the Bungalow, and an opening lap of 129.218mph gave him a lead of 3.6s over Dunlop (128.768mph) as they came into the pits for their mandatory stop, the lap speeds indicative of the good conditions.
Hickman (127.724mph) remained in third but was now 8.6s down on Dunlop although he’d edged away from Jordan with the gap between the two now 4.6s, the latter setting his quickest ever Supersport lap at 127.164mph.
Brookes (126.252mph) and Herbertson (125.892mph) slotted into fifth and sixth as Jamie Coward (Rapid Honda by DriveLife), Shaun Anderson (Stanford Racing by ARD Suzuki), Ian Hutchinson (Burrows Engineering/RK Racing Ducati) and Conor Cummins (North Lincs Components Suzuki) rounded out the top ten as Browne remained absent from the leaderboard.
However, it was all change at Glen Helen on the second lap as Dunlop took over the lead, the Ulsterman going 1.7s clear largely due to having a substantially quicker pit stop to the tune of five seconds.
Dunlop was now in the ascendancy, increasing his lead over Harrison to four seconds at Ballaugh with Hickman doubling his advantage over Jordan, the gap between the two now 8.3s. It was close for fifth though with only 0.1s between Brookes and Herbertson whilst Browne was estimated to be close to the two riders as well.
The lead increased again at Ramsey, Dunlop’s advantage now 7.6s and going into the final 37.73 miles he’d looked to have broken the challenge of Harrison, just as he had done in race one, with the lead up to a substantial 16s.
Hickman was looking more and more secure in third with Jordan having now pulled nine seconds clear of Brookes. It was close for sixth though with little to choose between Herbertson and Browne. Coward, Anderson and Hutchinson continued to circulate at the bottom end of the top ten, but Cummins’ strong ride was over as he pulled into the pits to retire.
At Glen Helen for the final time, Dunlop’s lead was up to 18.6s and he wasn’t to be denied his 35th TT win, a final lap speed of 128.405mph seeing him take the chequered flag some 26.1s ahead of Harrison (127.197mph).
Harrison’s margin over Hickman (127.446mph) was equally comfortable at 13.5s but there was change for fourth right at the end as Browne set his quickest ever Supersport lap, in excess of 127mph, to pinch the result off good friend Jordan (126.241mph) by 0.9s, Jordan having to nurse the bike home on the final lap.
Brookes (127.132mph) was only 1.6s further back, the Australian also setting his fastest Supersport lap, as Herbertson, Coward, Anderson and Hutchinson completed the top ten. Mitch Rees (Milenco by Padgetts Honda) claimed his best TT result in 11th with other strong rides coming from Pierre Yves Bian (14th) and Erno Kostamo (16th), the latter the first privateer home.
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©Words/Images above are from an official press release posted courtesy Isle of Man TT Races
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There are very few sporting events in the world with the tradition, heritage, and prestige of the Isle of Man TT Races. Despite being the world’s oldest continuous motorsports event, the TT remains, however, as fascinating and relevant today – continuously inspiring new generations of riders to come and race the Mountain Course.
Largely unchanged since 1911, the 37.73 miles of public roads simply capture the imagination like no other motorcycling venue can. The TT Course, whilst difficult to learn, is even harder to master – requiring immense levels of skill and concentration as speeds nudge an incredible 200mph.
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