Photos:
www.isleofmantt.com
ISLE OF MAN TT
With a new outright lap record and records falling
in all classes, the 2018 TT was faster than ever.
SUPERBIKE TT
M
ichael Dunlop gave Tyco BMW an
emotional victory in the RST Su-
perbike race, the opening race of
the 2018 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by
Monster Energy, with the Ulsterman taking
the lead on lap four after long time leader
Dean Harrison retired at Sulby Crossroads.
Harrison shattered the outright lap re-
cord from a standing start with a lap of
134.432mph to open up an 18 second lead
but, as he hit problems, Dunlop took his
16th TT win by 50.8s from Conor
Cummins (Padgetts Honda) with James
Hillier (Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki)
taking third.
At Glen Helen on the opening lap, Har-
rison had already opened up a 3.7s lead
over Dunlop with Peter Hickman a further
1.9s behind in third. Hillier, Cummins and
Gary Johnson completed the top six.
But Harrison was really pressing on, ex-
tending his advantage to 5.6s at Ballaugh
and adding another 2.2s by the time he
reached Ramsey.
With a sensational opening lap of
134.432mph – a new outright lap record
and from a standing start to boot - Harri-
son held an 11.3s lead over Dunlop with
Cummins moving up to third as Hickman
dropped back. The Smiths Racing BMW
pulled in to the pits to retire which meant
Hillier, David Johnson and Gary Johnson
filled the top six positions.
By Glen Helen second time around,
Harrison was 14.7s clear of Dunlop who in
turn was 10.7s ahead of Cummins. Fourth
to sixth positions remained the same as
Michael Rutter, Josh Brookes, Jamie
Coward and Lee Johnston rounded out
the top ten.
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KIWI RIDER 67