POKERSTARS SENIOR TT
Record-breaking feats continued even in the most anticipated race of the TT week: the Senior TT. This is where history is written each year and this year it was Peter Hickman who entered the exclusive list of riders who have been honoured with the title of “Fastest Road Racer in the World”. Just like every year, we had our eyes set on racers like Michael Dunlop, Conor Cummins, and Gary Johnson — big names who have performed exceptionally well in the past and entertained us. However, things were a bit different this time around. The race started with Dean Harrison leading the pack into Glen Helen and Ramsey, closely followed by Hickman and Dunlop.
Lap one ended with Harrison posting a 133.678-mph (215.134-km/h) lap. Hickman was 1.2 seconds behind Harrison and Michael in third, almost 13 seconds behind Hickman. This was just the beginning of the battle between the mighty racers. As the race entered the second lap, Harrison had already increased his gap to Hickman. As Harrison and Hickman were fighting for the lead, the challenge seemed to have ended for Dunlop, who had now fallen into fourth place. This meant that Cummins was now in third, chasing Hickman and Harrison.
As the race progressed, the order remained the same with Harrison leading, Hickman in second, Cummins in third, Dunlop fourth, and Josh Brookes in fifth. As the race entered the sixth and final lap, things started to heat up between race leader Harrison and Peter Hickman. By now, Peter had already lapped the circuit at a blistering 134.456 mph (216.386 km/h) and brought the gap between him and Harrison down to 1.9 seconds on the start of lap six. However, Harrison’s superior pace saw him run away from Hickman, increasing the gap to 5.7 seconds at Ballaugh.
It seemed like Hickman really took flight as he had shaved off more than three seconds when he arrived at Ramsey as the gap between him and Harrison was now down to two seconds. By Bungalow, Hickman had taken the lead but by a puny margin of 0.834 seconds. It all came down to the wire as Harrison crossed the finish line, posting a 134.918-mph (217.129km/h) lap. This was a new record, although it only lasted for 45 seconds as a blisteringly fast Peter Hickman crossed the finish line, posting a 135.452-mph (217.989-km/h) lap that helped him gain two seconds in the overall time and win the race. Hickman became the first man to breach the 135-mph barrier. Although Harrison came so close to winning the race, he missed the top spot by 0.860 km/h. Local hero, Conor Cummins, came home in third, followed by Dunlop in fourth.