SIX OF THE BEST AS HARRISON WINS SUPERBIKE TT

Dean Harrison claimed victory in Sunday afternoon’s RST Superbike race at the Isle of Man TT Races, the Honda Racing UK rider leading from start to finish as he led home Peter Hickman (Monster Energy BMW Motorrad by 8TEN Racing) by 15.5s with Michael Dunlop (MD Racing Honda) taking third.

For Harrison, who set the fastest lap of the race at 134.892mph, it was his first Superbike TT victory and his sixth in total, pulling alongside legendary names Jimmy Guthrie, Geoff Duke, John Surtees, Jim Redman and sidecar passenger Chas Birks.

It was Harrison who was quickest to Glen Helen on the opening lap, his advantage over Dunlop 4.8s with Hickman just over half a second further behind in third. Josh Brookes (DAO Racing Honda) slotted into fourth, 3.1s adrift of Hickman and only three quarters of a second clear of John McGuinness (Honda Racing UK). Ian Hutchinson (Team RST BMW) occupied sixth less than a second behind McGuinness as only three seconds covered fifth to 14th.

By Ballaugh, Harrison’s lead had stretched to 7.3s, the sector from Glen Helen only three quarters of a second slower than the quickest ever, but it was still close between Dunlop and Hickman in second and third, 0.752s separating the two riders. Brookes and McGuinness were still in fourth and fifth, but Nathan Harrison (H&H Motorcycles Honda) was now up to sixth.

Hickman and Dunlop traded second position for the majority of the race.

Round Ramsey for the first time, Dean Harrison had added another half second to his lead as he and Dunlop practically matched each other on the run from Ballaugh, but Hickman had dropped a bit of time, now 1.9s behind Dunlop. There’d been another change for sixth as Mike Browne (Caffrey International by Russell Racing Honda) relegated Nathan Harrison to seventh.

Dean Harrison continued to extend his lead over the Mountain and a first lap speed of 134.892mph gave him a 12s lead over Dunlop (133.297mph). Hickman (133.175mph) was just under a second behind Dunlop having closed the gap on the drop down the Mountain with Brookes still in fourth, now 7.7s behind Hickman. 

McGuinness (131.185mph), running a special livery harking back to his first TT back in 1996, remained in fifth, 4.7s ahead of Hutchinson (130.583mph) with Browne, Nathan Harrison, Jamie Coward (Rapid Honda by DriveLife) and David Johnson completing the top ten. Dominic Herbertson was out though, having stopped at Hillberry on the KTS Racing by Stanley Stewart BMW.

Dean Harrison wasn’t letting up at the head of the field, his advantage over Dunlop at Glen Helen on the second lap 15.2s but it was still close for second with the gap between Dunlop and Hickman now 1.2s.

Dean Harrison wasn’t letting up at the head of the field

He added another two seconds to his lead on the run to Ballaugh and by Ramsey second time around, the Honda rider’s advantage was 20.2s but it was Hickman now in second as Dunlop lost time as he sought to find a way by Nathan Harrison, the Ulsterman falling 1.3s adrift.

That gap was down to 0.388s at the Bungalow but a second lap of 134.765mph meant Harrison’s lead at one third race distance was a more than healthy 24.3s, Dunlop (133.143mph) back up to second albeit by just 0.293s from Hickman (133.227mph). Brookes (132.025mph) and McGuinness (132.053mph) were separated by seven seconds in fourth and fifth with Hutchinson (130.073mph) still in sixth.

Coward (130.335mph) was up to seventh with the top ten now rounded out by Nathan Harrison, Browne and Conor Cummins, the latter just missing out on a 130mph lap.
Dunlop’s pit stop was almost four seconds quicker than Dean Harrison’s, but the latter’s lead was still 24.4s at Glen Helen on the third lap whilst there remained little to choose between Dunlop and Hickman, the gap now only 0.332s! David Johnson retired from 11th though, the Platinum Club Kawasaki rider stopping at Glen Darragh.

Leading on the road, Dean Harrison was showing no signs of slowing down and at half race distance his lead had gone out further, the gap to new second placed Hickman 28.2s. Hickman, meanwhile, had turned his deficit to Dunlop into a 2.4s advantage. Brookes was still fourth, the gap to McGuinness in fifth hovering around the seven second mark but Coward had moved up to sixth, going 4.6s clear of Hutchinson.

Harrison’s lead went above half a minute for the first time at Glen Helen on lap four but the battle for second and third continued to rage, the gap between Hickman and Dunlop back down to 0.784s. Amazingly, at Ballaugh it was almost identical with the difference standing at 0.750s!

Coming into the pits for a second time, at the end of lap four, Harrison’s lap of 134.120mph sent him 33s clear, Dunlop (133.808mph) still in second with the gap to Hickman (133.409mph) now 0.6s. 

John McGuinness ran a special livery harking back to his first TT back in 1996.

Brookes was 46s back in fourth but McGuinness had closed to within 5.2s and it was even closer for sixth, Coward’s advantage over Hutchinson standing at 3.1s, the duo both above 130mph. Nathan Harrison, Browne and Cummins continued in eighth to tenth.

Hickman’s quick pit stop saw him cut Harrison’s lead to 29s but, more importantly, edge two seconds back ahead of Dunlop and McGuinness was another to have a quick pit stop, the 23-time TT winner cutting the deficit to Brookes to just 1.3s, the difference still only 1.5s at Ramsey Hairpin 16 miles further on.

Going into the sixth and final lap, Harrison’s lead over Hickman was more than 26 seconds and he was able to ease off slightly in the closing stages, taking the chequered flag 15.5s ahead of his rival, Hickman taking a strong second on his comeback from injury after a final lap of 134.587mph. Dunlop (133.933mph) completed the podium in third, 12.4s behind Hickman.

QPaul Jordan joined the 130 Club on his final lap (130.656mph) on his way to tenth

Brookes (133.819mph) ultimately pulled 19.5s clear of McGuinness (132.248mph) to take fourth with the battle for sixth going all the way to the end, Hutchinson (132.200mph) just edging out Coward (131.650mph) by 1.2s as Nathan Harrison, Browne and Paul Jordan completed the top ten, the latter setting his maiden 130mph lap on the final lap at 130.656mph.

Outside of the top ten, several riders posted their personal best laps including Marcus Simpson (128.312mph) in 16th, Michael Sweeney (127.684mph), Erno Kostamo (127.207mph), Mitch Rees (127.082mph), AJ Venter (127.357mph) and Jamie Cringle (127.334mph).