Peter Hickman brought Michael Dunlop’s run of success at the 2023 Isle of Man TT Races to an end this afternoon when he convincingly won the first RL360 Superstock TT Race by 23.17 seconds.
Today’s win being Hickman’s fourth consecutive superstock win, bringing his total number of TT wins up to 10, placing him alongside TT greats such as Stanley Woods, Ian Lougher and Giacomo Agostini.
Riding the Monster Energy by FHO Racing BMW, Hickman grabbed the lead at Ballaugh on the opening lap and never looked back with Dunlop (MD Racing Honda) having to settle for second on this occasion with Dean Harrison (DAO Racing Kawasaki) once again taking third.
After a three-hour delay due to low-lying cloud, the race got underway at 2.45pm and Dunlop led through Glen Helen on the first lap of three, but it was close with Hickman only 0.65 seconds behind as Harrison slotted into third a further 1.69 seconds adrift.
Davey Todd (Milenco by Padgett’s Motorcycles Honda) was in fourth ahead of team-mate Conor Cummins, having his first ride of TT 2023, and James Hillier (OMG Racing Yamaha). Jamie Coward (KTS Racing powered by Steadplan Honda), John McGuinness (Honda Racing), David Johnson (C&L Fairburn Properties/Jackson Racing Honda) and Dominic Herbertson (APERO BMW) completed the top ten but Hickman’s team-mate Josh Brookes was already out having only got as far as St Ninian’s.
By Ballaugh, Hickman had turned his deficit into a 2.2 second advantage courtesy of a sector time just a fraction outside the all-time best, and as he rounded Ramsey Hairpin for the first time, his lead had stretched out to 3.3 seconds. Harrison remained in third from Todd and Cummins, but Coward had now overhauled Hillier.
An opening lap of 133.979mph gave Hickman a 2.7 second lead over Dunlop as he came into the pits for his mandatory pit stop, some time was lost as he tried to find a way by Todd on the road, with Harrison still in third. Todd, Cummins and Coward continued in fourth to sixth but just 1.1 seconds covered them.
Hillier was still in seventh with McGuinness, Johnson and Mike Browne completing the top ten but 11th placed Herbertson failed to come into the pits, and had to come up the return road before being allowed into his pit for fuel. Local newcomer Ryan Cringle, meanwhile, was going great guns with a lap of 123.107mph, whilst fellow debutante Erno Kostamo posted his first 120mph+ lap.
By Glen Helen on lap two, Hickman had reasserted control, aided by a quicker pit stop, with his lead now up to 5.3 seconds as Dunlop pulled 10.8 seconds clear of Harrison. Todd was beginning to look a bit more secure in fourth as he was now 3.3 seconds ahead of Coward but just 0.6 seconds covered him, Cummins and Hillier.
Hickman continued to extend his lead throughout the second lap, the gap 9.1s at Ramsey Hairpin but whilst the top four remained constant, the battle for fourth continued to rage and at the north of the island, the order was Coward, Hillier and Cummins, only 1.5 seconds between them. McGuinness, Johnson and Browne were holding station in eighth to tenth.
Going into the third and final lap, Hickman’s lead over Dunlop was a healthy 15.7 seconds with Sunday’s RST Superbike winner, in turn, 10.1 seconds clear of Harrison. Todd was still in fourth with Coward’s advantage over Hillier down to four tenths of a second. Cummins, perhaps understandably given his illness earlier in the week, had slipped 4.2 seconds back from Hillier as McGuinness, Johnson and the recovering Herbertson rounded out the top ten.
Hickman was on outright lap record pace on the final lap, let alone Superstock lap record pace, but in the end, he eased off in the final miles although he still set the fastest lap of the race at 134.331mph. More importantly, it gave him a 23.17 second victory over Dunlop with Harrison a further 14.8 seconds back in third.
Todd took a comfortable fourth, but Hillier edged out Coward in the battle for fifth by just 1.3 seconds with Cummins taking a valiant seventh as Johnson, Browne and Shaun Anderson completed the top ten. McGuinness retired at Guthrie’s on the final lap whilst Cringle increased his pace on the final lap to 123.898mph to take 27th.
The Carole Nash Supertwin TT Race will take place this evening at 18:30.