RST Superbike TT
THE FIRST RACE OF THE TT WEEK belonged to the Dunlop Dynasty as Michael set the mountain course on fire with blisteringly fast timing thanks to his record-breaking pace. They say it’s not easy to set the fastest time from a standing start but Michael Dunlop, nephew of the late TT rock star Joey Dunlop and BMW Hawk Racing rider, proved everyone wrong by lapping the mountain course in less than 17 minutes and at an average speed of 133.369 mph (214.636 km/h). On his second lap out Dunlop went slightly faster, clocking an average of 133.381 mph (214.655 km/h). This impressive pace saw the 27-year-old win the first race of the TT week by a margin of 19 seconds. In second was the Bingley Bullet, a k a Ian Hutchinson, who also lapped the mountain course at an impressive pace with his max average speed being recorded at 132.892 mph (213.868 km/h). In third was the second most successful man at the TT, John McGuinness of Honda Racing; the Morecambe Missile was able to clinch the final place on the podium in the first event of the week though he couldn’t match Hutchy or Dunlop’s pace as his best average speed was 130.884 mph (210.637 km/h). Peter Hickman, who finished fourth, did manage to lap the mountain course at 130 mph (209 km/h) but he slowed down a bit towards the end of the six-lap race. Rounding off the top five was Michael Rutter of Bathams SMT Racing.