MILWAUKEE SENIOR TT RACE PREVIEW
First held in 1911, the Senior race remains the Blue Riband event of the Isle of Man TT Races, the race with the most history, the race every rider wants to win and the race everyone remembers.
Some of the greatest names in the sport have added their name to the most expensive trophy, said to be priceless, in the sport with the likes of Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini, Stanley Woods, John Surtees, Joey Dunlop, Alec Bennett, Geoff Duke, Steve Hislop and John McGuinness all multiple winners.
John McGuinness celebrates his 2008 Senior TT victory after a duel with Cameron Donald.
Six laps of the Mountain Course continue to be the ultimate test and man of machine, with the Senior often concluding race week in dramatic fashion. Indeed, it’s played host to some of the greatest races in TT history including Woods v Jimmy Guthrie in 1935, Hailwood v Agostini in 1967, Hislop v Carl Fogarty in 1992, McGuinness v Cameron Donald in 2008 and, more recently, Peter Hickman v Dean Harrison in 2018.
Traditionally held on the final Friday of race week, recent years have seen it moved to a Saturday slot but for 2026 weather conditions mean it’s been put back onto a Friday and with only one 1000cc race to have taken place thus far, form guide is judged on qualifying and last Sunday’s Superbike race, which marks Dean Harrison down as the man to beat.
The Honda Racing rider has been fast from the word go with his lap last Friday of 135.484mph remaining the quickest of TT26 so far. With a dominant victory in the Superbike race, he’ll be confident of adding to his single Senior success of 2019.
His expected challengers should again be Peter Hickman (Monster Energy BMW Motorrad by 8TEN Racing) and Michael Dunlop MBE (MD Racing Honda), both riders having three Senior wins to their name.
Hickman’s last win came in 2023, the last time he finished the race, and he got quicker as the Superbike race wore on, a final lap speed of 134.587mph making him the second fastest rider this year and, working his way back to full fitness, the four-lap race could play into his hands.
Hickman is a proven Senior contender with three wins to his name.
Dunlop, meanwhile, hasn’t tasted victory in the Senior race since 2017 when he was victorious on the Bennetts Suzuki. Preparation hasn’t been ideal and he was quite vocal after the Superbike race that he’s up against it in terms of challenging Harrison so time will tell if he can find that extra bit required in the race.
The rain since Sunday, which will have washed away a lot of rubber off the Mountain Course, and lack of track time will probably see speeds slightly down and that may make it more of a level playing field. The practice lap could be crucial but, again, Harrison’s ability to be fast out the blocks could be to his benefit.
The Superbike race saw Honda fill eight of the top ten places with Josh Brookes (DAO Racing Honda) the best of the rest in fourth place. He was almost a minute adrift of the podium but a final lap of almost 134mph shows his potential although he knows he needs to be fast at the beginning of the race too to stand a chance of finishing on the podium.
Brookes leads the chasing pack, looking to convert strong pace into a podium challenge.
John McGuinness MBE (Honda Racing) has proven he’s riding as well as ever with Jamie Coward (Rapid Honda with DriveLife) also having had a good TT having missed last year’s event. Nathan Harrison (H&H Motorcycles Honda), Paul Jordan (Jackson Racing powered by Prosper2 Honda) and Mike Browne (Caffrey International by Russell Racing Honda) have also been in the 130mph category so will be hopeful of improving further in the Senior.
After Hickman, Ian Hutchinson (Team RST) should be the best BMW challenger, a lap of 132.200mph in the Superbike race more than proving the 2010 Senior race winner is right back on form with Conor Cummins (Conrod’s Motorsport BMW) hoping to end his campaign on a high after a challenging fortnight.
Other top ten hopefuls include Shaun Anderson (Penz13 BMW), Michael Evans (Dafabet Racing Honda), Brian McCormack (Roadhouse Macau BMW), Rob Hodson (SMT Racing Honda), Phil Crowe (Handtrans/Nigel Appleyard/AgriWash BMW) and Marcus Simpson (WH Racing powered by Dynobike Honda).
