Isle of Man TT: Advantage Harrison As Qualifying Concludes

Qualifying for this year’s Isle of Man TT Races concluded on Friday afternoon and it did so in spectacular fashion as Dean Harrison lit up the Mountain Course, the Honda Racing UK rider lapping at 135.484mph on his Superstock machine.

May 29, 2026

Qualifying for this year’s Isle of Man TT Races concluded on Friday afternoon and it did so in spectacular fashion as Dean Harrison lit up the Mountain Course, the Honda Racing UK rider lapping at 135.484mph on his Superstock machine.

Having topped every qualifying session, Harrison will head into Saturday’s three-lap Superstock race as the clear favourite, especially as his 135mph+ lap was a short lap as the session concluded, rather than a flying lap. His lap puts him almost half a minute quicker than the second fastest Superstock rider, Josh Brookes.

Unlike the morning session, most riders went with their Superstock bike first as they looked to make any last-minute changes to setup ahead of tomorrow’s race, one of the major exceptions being Peter Hickman, the 8TEN Racing rider clearly hoping to make further improvements after his earlier comments that the Superbike BMW M1000RR still needed to be refined.

John McGuinness (Honda Racing UK) was out on his Superstock bike, the team having changed engines on his Superbike in between sessions, but it was Michael Dunlop (MD Racing BMW) who led the field away ahead of Ian Hutchinson (Team RST BMW), Brookes (DAO Racing Honda) and Harrison.

The Honda Racing rider was six seconds quicker than anyone else on the nine-mile run to Glen Helen, with just over a second covering the riders in second to fifth, Dunlop, Hickman, Brookes and Hutchinson. Although Hickman was stringing together a strong lap, being quicker than Harrison from Glen Helen to Ballaugh, he was black flagged at Parliament Square in Ramsey to allow marshals to inspect his BMW.

Harrison wasn’t having any such issues though and the Honda rider built on his advantage throughout the lap, a first lap speed of 133.549mph some 12.6s quicker than Dunlop (131.913mph) with Hutchinson (130.700mph) third quickest on the Superstock times. With Hickman having been forced to stop due to a loose part of the belly pan having to be removed, Brookes topped the early Superbike leaderboard with a lap of 131.834mph.

The second lap saw Harrison really fly around the Mountain Course and despite it being a short lap, as the session came to an end, his speed was a superb 135.484mph, just 1.6s outside his personal best lap set in last year’s first Superstock race. Brookes posted his best lap of the week at 132.220mph with Hutchinson (130.532mph) and Jamie Coward (130.122mph) also above the 130mph mark on their second laps.

Dunlop came in to make changes to his Superstock BMW, getting back on track to put in a second lap slightly quicker than his first at 131.946mph, but Hickman’s session went further awry as, having switched to his Superstock machine, he ran wide at Sulby Bridge and then pulled in immediately afterwards at Ginger Hall clearly not happy with something on the BMW.

Other noteworthy laps in the session came from Smith Racing’s Julian Trummer (127.630mph), WH Racing’s Marcus Simpson (127.334mph), the Milenco by Padgetts Honda of Mitch Rees (126.668mph) and Finland’s Erno Kostamo (125.768mph). Newcomer Gary McCoy’s good week continued as he lapped at 123.370mph.

At 3.15pm, the final qualifying session at TT 2026 got underway with the Supersport and Sportbike machines getting their final chance to refine set-up ahead of Tuesday’s races, Dunlop, Brookes, Hickman, Dominic Herbertson and Michael Evans all out early on their Supersport mounts. Dean Harrison was a notable absentee though, his work for the day done.

Dunlop was quickest on the Scars Racing Ducati to Glen Helen, 2.7s quicker than Hickman (Swan Racing by PHR Performance Triumph) with Coward on the Rapid Honda in third ahead of Brookes (Uggly & Co. Racing Suzuki), Hutchinson (Burrows Engineering/RK Racing Ducati) and Evans (Dafabet Triumph).

Dunlop stretched his advantage through every sector with an opening lap of 128.719mph further cementing his status as the hot favourite for Supersport honours. The 33-time winner immediately pulled in, and it was Hickman (127.301mph) who was second fastest, 11.7s down on Dunlop with Brookes (125.556mph), Coward (125.357mph), Hutchinson (124.217mph) and Joe Yeardsley (122.752mph) completing the top six.

Brookes (125.318mph) and Hutchinson (124.207mph) both completed another lap, speeds down as they were again short lapped as the session concluded, although it was Herbertson (KTS Macadam Factory Racing Triumph) in fifth overall after a lap of 124.499mph. Another impressive performance came in from former Macau Grand Prix winner Kostamo, the Finn lapping at 122.077mph on the Zerowaste Motorsport Ducati.

Browne topped the Sportbike leaderboard on the opening lap, despite overshooting Parliament Square, with a speed of 120.371mph putting him ahead of Michal Dokoupil (117.931mph), Barry Furber (117.320mph), Stefano Bonetti (116.747mph), Michael Sweeney (116.701mph) and Jonathan Perry (116.083mph).

Browne’s second lap on the Melbray/Laycock Racing Paton was a strong 121.348mph with Hickman (120.050mph) and Coward (119.385mph) slotting into second and third respectively on the leaderboard after getting a solitary lap each on the Swan Racing by PHR Performance and Milenco by Padgetts Paton respectively. Meanwhile, newcomer Rhys Stephenson (Rocket Racing Triumph) ended his qualifying week on a high with his best lap so far of 114.118mph.

Win with BOTB.com

Botb.com

£0.85

Win a Ducati Panigale V2 + £10,000

BUY NOW

Botb.com

£0.75

Win a Yamaha R9 + £10,000

BUY NOW

Botb.com

£0.85

Win a Yamaha R1M

BUY NOW

Out Now on Kindle

Watch, like and subscribe to our Youtube channel

Get These Awesome Perks With Our YouTube Membership!: Join Our YouTube Membership and Save – Get two digital issues of Modern Classic Motorcycle News per month for price of one join here:

👍 Like | 💬 Comment | 🔔 Subscribe for more modern classic motorcycle content

©Words/Images above are from an official press release posted courtesy Isle of Man TT Races

For more Isle of Man TT Races news head to our dedicated page: Isle of Man TT Races News Home Page

or head to the official Isle of Man TT website iomttraces.com

Sportsbikeshop.co.uk

£499.99

RST Fusion Airbag CE Leather Jacket

BUY NOW

Rst Iom Tt Brandish 2 Ce Leather Jacket - Black

Sportsbikeshop.co.uk

£299.99

RST IOM TT Brandish 2 CE Leather Jacket - Black

BUY NOW

Rst Ladies Ripley 2 Ce Leather Jacket - Black

Sportsbikeshop.co.uk

£269.99

RST Ladies Ripley 2 CE Leather Jacket - Black

BUY NOW

What are the Isle of Man TT Races
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.

2026 TT Schedule is available at – https://www.iomttraces.com/racing/page/schedule/

In June 2025, it was announced that Amazon MGM Studios had picked up a film and docuseries package centred on the Isle of Man TT Races. The feature film is being produced by Free Association, Plan B and Entertainment 360, with Channing Tatum and Eve Hewson attached to star and Reid Carolin directing. More information can be found: https://www.iomttraces.com/latest/news/amazon-tt-film-docuseries/

Discover TT+

TT+ is the official digital home of the Isle of Man TT Races – offering free, year-round access to the world’s greatest road racing event. Fans can enjoy an ever-growing library of exclusive original content, interviews, as well as over 30 years of archive race highlights.

TT+ brings viewers closer than ever to the riders, machines, and stories that define the TT. Available online and across smart TVs, mobile devices, and tablets, TT+ transforms how fans around the world experience the Mountain Course.

Access TT+ free at – ttplus.iomttraces.com/

Sportsbikeshop.co.uk

£499.99

RST Fusion Airbag CE Leather Jacket

BUY NOW

Sportsbikeshop.co.uk

£299.99

RST IOM TT Brandish 2 CE Leather Jacket - Black

BUY NOW

Sportsbikeshop.co.uk

£269.99

RST Ladies Ripley 2 CE Leather Jacket - Black

BUY NOW

* Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission (at no cost to you) if you click on the link and make a purchase. Any money made goes straight back into the website and magazine. Your support is appreciated!