HONDA'S HARRISON CLAIMS FIFTH TT VICTORY WITH SECOND SUPERSTOCK WIN OF TT 2025

Dean Harrison claimed his fifth victory at the Isle of Man TT Races on Friday afternoon in the Opul Superstock TT Race, with the Honda Racing rider coming home 16.03 seconds clear of Davey Todd (Monster Energy by 8TEN Racing BMW Motorrad), while Michael Dunlop (MD Racing BMW) completed the podium in third.

Harrison seized the lead early on, while both Todd and Dunlop encountered issues. Dunlop ran on at Braddan Bridge on the opening lap, and Todd’s BMW refused to fire after the compulsory pit stop, at which point he was only half a second behind his Honda rival. Despite the setback, Dunlop fought back to claim his 50th TT podium.

The race was delayed by almost four hours, from 10:45 am to 2:30 pm, to allow the roads time to dry following overnight rain. Once underway, Harrison again made a strong start, leading Todd by 2.2 seconds at Glen Helen, with Ian Hutchinson (moobob/MLav Racing BMW) in third. A notable early surprise was Dunlop, as TV cameras picked him up going through Ballagarey with Josh Brookes, who had started ten seconds behind on the Jackson Racing powered by Prosper2 Honda—already on his rear wheel.

Although Dunlop had edged ahead of Brookes by Glen Helen, he was already 17.2 seconds down on race leader Harrison, putting him in 20th through the first sector. James Hillier (Muc-Off Racing Honda) ran in fourth, ahead of local riders Conor Cummins (Burrows Engineering/RK Racing BMW) and Nathan Harrison (H&H Motorcycles Honda).

Harrison’s lead over Todd was cut to 1.1 seconds at Ballaugh, with Todd soon leading on the road. By Ramsey Hairpin, Todd held a minuscule advantage of 0.025 seconds, having overtaken Dunlop on the road. Hillier now sat in third ahead of Dean Harrison, Cummins, and Dominic Herbertson (HRRC/Adam Hewitt Ltd Honda), while Hutchinson was seen touring slowly around the hairpin. Reports also confirmed that Dunlop had overshot at Braddan Bridge, though he had clawed his way back up to ninth by Ramsey.

Harrison retook the lead at the Bungalow by 1.1 seconds and completed the opening lap at 133.464 mph. Todd was just behind at 133.387 mph, trailing by only half a second at the Grandstand as both riders pitted. However, Todd’s race was compromised when his BMW refused to restart after the stop, costing him over ten seconds.

Cummins, lapping at 130.378 mph, moved into third ahead of Hillier (130.241 mph), while Dunlop (130.236 mph) climbed to fifth, just ahead of Nathan Harrison (130.017 mph). Brookes, Herbertson, Mike Browne (KTS Racing by Stanley Stewart BMW), and John McGuinness MBE—on the second Honda Racing machine—rounded out the top ten at the end of lap one.

By Glen Helen on lap two, Harrison’s lead had extended to 13.3 seconds, with Todd now again running behind Dunlop on the road. Dunlop had taken over third, and Hillier had jumped ahead of Cummins thanks to a quicker pit stop, moving 3.5 seconds clear. Cummins was only 0.44 seconds ahead of Nathan Harrison, while Hutchinson retired in the pits. Brookes’ teammate, Paul Jordan, followed suit shortly after, retiring at Ballacraine.

Harrison continued to pull away, adding two more seconds between Glen Helen and Ballaugh, and by Ramsey the gap had grown to 17.5 seconds. Further back, Dunlop’s advantage over Hillier was a narrow 2.7 seconds, while the battle for fifth between Nathan Harrison and Cummins remained fierce, the margin just 1.39 seconds in the north of the island.

Going into the final lap, Harrison enjoyed a comfortable 20‐second lead. Todd was secure in second, 25.2 seconds clear of Dunlop, who in turn had stretched his advantage over Hillier to 5.6 seconds. The battle for fifth was set to go down to the wire, with less than five seconds separating Cummins, Nathan Harrison, and Brookes.

Harrison was able to ride to his signals for the final lap, bringing the Honda home with a closing speed of 132.580 mph and finishing 16.03 seconds ahead of Todd (133.099 mph), securing his second win of the week and fifth career TT victory. Todd was left wondering what might have been, while Dunlop (132.126 mph) also reflected on what could have been after salvaging third.

Hillier continued his strong week with fourth place, clocking a final lap of 131.569 mph. Cummins (131.528 mph) edged Brookes (131.407 mph) for fifth, the latter setting his fastest lap of the week. Nathan Harrison, McGuinness, Herbertson, and David Johnson (Platinum Club Racing Kawasaki) rounded out the top ten.