Harrison supreme in Superstock; Dunlop the Supertwin master.

Another day of weather problems meant that the race action had to be delayed until the evening when the Superstock 1 and Supersport 1 were each held over 2 laps on a track that had several damp patches; remnants from the afternoon rain that caused racing to be withheld; 10 minutes before it was due to begin. The weather for the riders was far from ideal; it was cold; more March than June; and there was a lively breeze blowing. Despite this there was a good crowd gathered in Parliament Square to watch the action.

Our early leader was Davey Todd; he led by 0.26s from Dean Harrison at Glen Helen. James Hillier, Nathan Harrison, Michael Dunlop and birthday boy Mikey Evans held 6^th; the margins were tiny from 3^rd to 10^th. At Ballaugh, Todd led by 1s; Dunlop was up to 3^rd; but 10s down on Harrison, on a machine that he described as not quite right. James Hillier, Nathan Harrison and Dom Herbertson were 4^th to 6^th.

By Ramsey, Dean Harrison was the leader on the road; but on corrected time he 2s down on Todd. Dunlop could not match their pace and was 13s behind. Hillier; Nathan Harrison and Ian Hutchinson completed what was a fluid top 6. The was good action helped to warm the crowd. Todd was marginally the quicker on the mountain climb; but Harrison took 1.9s back on the descent.

A lap at 133.712mph; amazing in the conditions; gave Todd a lead of 0.4s from Harrison (133.658mph). Dunlop (131.061mph) was now 20.14s behind. Hillier, Nathan Harrison and Ian Hutchinson completed the top 6; just 1.8s covering them.

Harrison pulled the pin, and Todd could not match him. Harrison led by 2.3s at Glen, at Ballaugh the lead was 3.2s. At Ramsey, the lead had grown to 5s. Behind them Hutchy had taken 5^th from Nathan Harrison, who was being closed down by Conor Cummins. A lead of 9.323s at the top of the mountain meant that the race was in the bag for Harrison; barring a mechanical issue.

A personal best lap at 135.692mph gave Dean Harrison a margin of victory over Todd of 11.656s; Todd’s final lap was at 133.894mph. After a wait since the 2019 Senior Race; Dean secured a well deserved 4^th TT victory. Dunlop took third, 20.5s down on Todd; a few tweaks should see him closer in the second race. Another fine ride saw the ever consistent Hillier take 4^th, Hutchy had a great ride to 5^th; he lapped over 131mph on lap 2. Conor Cummins took 6^th from Nathan Harrison who dropped 3s in the short run from Cronk ny Mona to the finish. James Hind; in 10^th put up his best ever lap at 132.152mph on the second lap.

RL360 Superstock RR Race 1

1. Dean Harrison                 Honda                                                  134.667mph
2. Davey Todd                       8TEN BMW                                       133.894mph
3. Michael Dunlop               MD Racing BMW                              132.554mph
4. James Hillier                    Muc-Off Honda                                 131.214mph
5. Ian Hutchinson                moobob / MLav BMW                     130.930mph
6. Conor Cummins               Burrows BMW                                  130.698mph

Conditions were worse for the Supertwin Race; wind stronger; clouds darker and lowering; temperate Arctic; and the damp patches remained. What a race: the master showed his class, and two new names were seen on the list of podium finishers in a TT Race.

The race was going according to practice form at Glen Helen on the first lap; Michael Dunlop on his Paton was setting the pace; it is a case that if Michael finishes on it; Michael wins. He led by 2.24s from Mikey Evans; who had Mike Browne just 0.65s behind in third. Browne’s ill luck continued; he had to park the machine at Douglas Road; Kirk Michael. Davey Todd, Stefano Bonetti and Rob Hodson were 4^th to 6^th. The lead was nearly 6s at Ballaugh; Dom Herbertson was promoted to 6th by Browne’s demise. Paul Jordan was first into Ramsey; soon followed by Evans and Dunlop, who had all but closed the 10s starting interval to Evans. Dunlop took the lead on the road early on the mountain climb. Evans stuck close to him; dropping less than 1s on the mountain section. Dunlop’s lap was at 122.006mph; Evans lapped at 120.837mph; no one else broke the 120mph barrier. Davey Todd was 3^rd; Hodson, Jordan and Herbertson completed the top6; Bonetti having slipped to 7^th.

Dunlop gained 3s on the charge to Glen Helen; Hodson had edged his way past Todd, who seemed to be having an intermittent machine problem. Herbertson and Jordan completed the leader board; just 3.8s covering 3^rd to 6^th. Dunlop received the acclaim of the crowd as he came into Parliament Square; with a lead of 17.9s and on lap record pace. There was a huge welcome for Mikey Evans; he was 14s clear of Hodson and on for a first podium barring a mechanical problem. Hodson was 5.26s clear of the tight battle for 4^th between Paul Jordan, Herbertson and Todd; who may have been hampered by a close on track battle with Adam McLean.

With the lead nearly 20s at the Bungalow, Dunlop eased from lap record pace. Todd had moved clear of McLean on the road and moved up to 5^th. With a final lap at 122.610mph; just shy of his own lap record; Michael secured his 31^st TT victory and his, record beating, 48^th podium finish. To rapturous applause Mikey Evans took second place; his last lap being at 121.306 mph. Hodson took his first podium after a final lap at 121.020mph. Jordan also lapped at over 121mph to keep Todd at bay. Herbertson took 6^th; with McLean the first Yamaha finisher in 7^th.

Entire Cover Insurance Supertwin Race 1

1. Michael Dunlop              MD Racing Paton                            122.307mph
2. Mikey Evans                    Dafabet Kawasaki                            121.071mph
3. Rob Hodson                     SMT Paton                                        120.349mph
4. Paul Jordan                     Jackson Aprilia                                 120.255mph
5. Davey Todd                     Milenco Padgetts Paton                  120.030mph
6. Dominic Herbertson      Melbray Paton                                 119.927mph