On a day when three races were planned, rain meant that only the Monster Energy Supersport TT could be run – with class specialist Michael Dunlop taking victory to extend his unbeaten run to nine supersport races in a row.
The day had been scheduled to see three three-lap TTs run, with Saturday’s rained-off RL360 Superstock TT planned to run alongside the first ever Carole Nash Sportbike TT and a shortened Monster Energy Supersport TT.
With overnight rain eliminating any possibility of an early start, organisers planned to run supersport in the afternoon – back to its original four laps, with other two to be rescheduled. It would eventually take place at 3pm, back down to three laps, with Dunlop taking victory from Dean Harrison and Peter Hickman.
Although the sportbike race was briefly reinstated with a planned 6.30pm start, showers coming in from the west of the island saw a further postponement and an end of racing for the day.
As it was, the one race which took place had an inevitability about it. With the course still damp in many sections, the riders took caution on the opening lap – with Harrison showing a little more speed than his rivals to take an early lead.
But as the riders made their compulsory pit stop at the end of lap one, Dunlop had moved into a slender lead – less than two tenths of a second ahead of Sunday’s Superbike TT winner Harrison.
From there it was a regulation 34th TT win for Dunlop in what has historically been his strongest class. Harrison rode hard, but couldn’t make up for his Honda CBR600RR’s lack of grunt against the Ducati, which enjoys a 356cc engine capacity advantage and runs to the latest ‘Next Generation’ regulations.
As in the six-lap Superbike TT, Hickman got stronger as the race went on. He admitted to being cautious on the damp first lap, but sportingly conceded that even in perfect conditions he didn’t quite have the pace of his two big rivals. The Swan Triumph rider overhauled the impressive Northern Irishman Paul Jordan, also Ducati mounted, who had held a six second advantage over the Mountain Course’s outright lap record holder. Josh Brookes completed the top five on his Uggly & Co Suzuki GSX-750, with Dominic Herbertson sixth on the KTS Macadam Triumph.
“The conditions were a bit strange today but the bike never missed a beat,” said Dunlop. “The team worked really well and it’s great to have another one under my belt.”
Carole Nash ambassador Harrison was pragmatic and overall seemed happy with the result, saying: “First of all, I’m really pleased we got that race away. It was touch and go today and I wanted to go racing as much as the fans wanted to watch a race, we all deserved something. I did what I could and rode well, but it’s challenging when you’re giving away so much capacity.
The team built a brilliant bike for me and I feel like I’ve been riding the CBR600RR well all year on the roads and the short circuits, it’s so much fun getting it singing and carrying corner speed as much as you can. I’ll take that second place, I’m pleased for the boys in the team and for Honda, we’ll keep an eye on the weather and see what tune it plays with the schedule.”
And now we all wait! Tomorrow was due to host just a three-lap Superstock TT following the suspension of sidecar racing at this year’s races, but that is looking doubtful due to a poor weather forecast. Organisers have kept the door open however and have stated they will ‘ensure no opportunity for racing is missed’.
Better weather is forecast from Friday, and Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson has suggested racing could be extended into Sunday, meaning we could be waiting around for a few days, ahead of a packed final weekend of racing.
Photos: Isle of Man TT Races
