Michael Dunlop’s Supersport record-breaker celebrated
You pick Dunlop’s 129mph lap on a 600 and Hickman’s first TT victory as the standout Supersport and Superstock battles
‘There was a thinking that he was a bit ragged’
Having set the fastest lap in practice by more than 11 seconds, Michael Dunlop was very much the favourite for the opening Supersport race in 2018. Riding a Honda prepared by PTR, with whom he’d set a lap record of 128.667mph in 2013, he was expecting things to be a lot closer in the race though and so it was with Dean Harrison setting the early pace.
That said, an opening lap of 128.265mph gave Dunlop a lead of 1.7s only for Harrison to reduce the gap on the run to Glen Helen, which forced the Ulsterman into responding.
He did exactly that and, increasing his lead throughout the lap, he came into the pits for his solitary pit stop with a stunning new lap record of 129.197mph giving him a more healthy advantage of 6.4s.
Going into the final lap, the duo were together on the road with Dunlop going on to claim the win by 10.2s but with the pair having reduced their pace, Harrison only got the verdict for second over Peter Hickman by 0.258s!
Michael Dunlop
“It’s a long old stint cramped up on one of those things, I’ve got a similar problem to Peter Hickman – he’s a bit big for a Supersport bike in terms of height and I’ve got the same issue, only mine is because I’m fat!
“I didn’t really know how the lap would go on the 600, so I just went for it and hoped for the best! “Sure, 129mph is quick for a 600 but there’s no choice, when you’ve got Dean flying you have to push if you’re going to win. The boys were on it, the pace was so hot and the sun was out so everyone upped their game. Everyone at the front is on a decent bike now so if you want to win you have to push. I still think I can do a 130mph.”
Dean Harrison
It was never going to be easy for Harrison with Dunlop starting right behind him and from the moment the Ulsterman had the Silicone Engineering Kawasaki rider in his sights there was only going to be one winner.
“I didn’t think I’d have the pace on the 600. I’m much more comfortable on the big bikes if I’m honest and I did not expect to be doing 128mph on the 600. We changed the engine the night before the race, something we hadn’t tried before and it seemed to do the trick. I got off to a good start but then got stuck in traffic a bit as I’m always a bit apprehensive about passing people.
“Once I saw ‘P2 minus two’ on my board I knew who it was and knew I was only 10 seconds up the road so I must have been like a red rag to a bull for Michael!”
Paul Phillips TT Business Development Manager:
“With Michael having been dominant for a number of years we’d started to see a few chinks in his armour with the arrival of Dean Harrison and Peter Hickman. But in that race I remember him catching and passing Dean on the road. His corner entry speed on the 600 was remarkable and I can remember watching on board footage and there are parts you where, even though you know he made it, you can’t believe he was going to make it. Total commitment. In the early part of his career there was a thinking that he was rash, a bit ragged and that he took a lot of risks, but I think that’s a misnomer because that lap time shows that he is using every part of the track, but he’s using it consistently. And while I don’t think he’s leaving any real margin for error, he’s doing it in a controlled and planned way. “I actually don’t think his lap record in that race got as much credit as it should have. It’s a phenomenal lap and for me it’s right up there with the outright lap record. The big bikes always grab the headlines, but that 129mph lap is as good as if not better than the 135mph Senior TT lap record.”