Through Glen Helen on lap two and
Harrison had edged away from Hickman
again to the tune of 3.5s with Cummins now
third as Dunlop slipped further back. Brookes
was up to fifth and West now a superb sixth
and Todd a stunning eighth.
Throughout the first half of lap three,
Harrison continued to pull away, with his lead
at Ramsey over eight seconds, but Hickman
was again quicker over the Mountain and as
they started lap four, the difference between
the two was back down to 5.8s.
At Ramsey Hairpin on lap four, Harrison
had stretched his lead over Hickman to 6.9s,
but Hickman again showed his strength
over the Mountain reducing the deficit at
the Bungalow to 4.4s. And he wasn’t done
there, setting a new outright lap record of
134.456mph on his way into the second pit
stop. The order behind stayed constant as
Cummins pulled further away from Dunlop
with Brookes looking comfortable in fifth.
Gary Johnson had overhauled West for sixth.
The second and final pit stop saw
changes, though, as by Glen Helen on lap
five Harrison’s lead had shot back up to
6.2s, although by Ramsey Hickman had
shaved 1.2s off despite his engine sounding
significantly louder than when it started.
It was down to 3.6s at the Bungalow, 2.5s
at Cronk ny Mona, and as Hickman crossed
the line to start the final lap, his deficit to
Harrison was only 1.9s. Harrison’s superiority
over the first nine miles saw him open up the
margin to 3.7s as traffic came into play on the
final lap, and he pulled even further away on
the high speed run to Ballaugh, his advantage
now 5.7s.
However, Hickman really flew on the run to
Ramsey bringing the lead down to just two
seconds and by the Bungalow, he’d taken
the lead for the first time by the slender
margin of 0.834s. He doubled that at Cronk
ny Mona, and all eyes were on the chequered
flag as Harrison crossed the line with a new
lap record of 134.918mph/16:46.742. He
held it for forty five seconds before Hickman
crossed the line in a sensational, new outright
lap record of 135.452mph, pipping Harrison
to the race win by two seconds.
Cummins was over a minute and a half back
in third with Dunlop, Brookes and Johnson
finishing in fourth to sixth, Brookes’ final lap
of 131.745mph the fastest by Norton and by
an Australian.
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