Michael Dunlop takes 33rd TT victory with lap record in the Supertwin class

Commanding start-finish victory

The three-lap race began on Friday evening at 6 p.m. in bright sunshine. Dunlop was already three seconds ahead of Davey Todd at the first time check in Glen Helen, followed by Adam McLean. Rob Hodson and Dominic Herbertson were also among the leading group, while Michael Evans retired early with technical problems.

Dunlop steadily extended his lead: At Ballaugh he was five seconds ahead of Todd, at Ramsey already nine seconds. Meanwhile, Hodson was closing in on Todd, while a close battle for places broke out in the midfield.

Strong first lap before the pit stop

With a first lap of 121.664 mph (195.835 km/h), Dunlop had a twelve-second lead over Todd, who followed at 120.361 mph (193.717 km/h). Behind them, Hodson, Browne, Herbertson and McLean fought a close duel, separated by just 2.5 seconds. Paul Jordan, Barry Furber, Michael Rutter and Joe Yeardsley were also in the top ten after the first lap.

Time lost at the pit stop, but strong comeback

Although Dunlop lost around six seconds to Todd at the mandatory pit stop, he made up almost half of that time on the way to Glen Helen. As the second lap progressed, Dunlop again set strong sector times, particularly between Glen Helen and Ballaugh, and increased his lead to 14.6 seconds at Ramsey. Hodson consolidated third place at this point – until technical problems forced him to retire after the Gooseneck.

Final round with record speed

Dunlop started the final lap with a 14.5-second lead and showed no weakness. His sector times were an early indication of a possible new lap record. Herbertson had also pulled clear of Browne by now and was safely in third place. Behind them, the battle for the top five raged: Browne, McLean, Jordan and Furber were separated by just 3.9 seconds.

Dunlop finally crossed the finish line with an average speed of 123.056 mph (197.995 km/h) – a new Supertwin lap record. His lead over Davey Todd was 26.775 seconds in the end. Dominic Herbertson secured third place with a lap of 121.370 mph (195.287 km/h) ahead of the strong driving Paul Jordan (121.899 mph / 196.201 km/h), who was narrowly beaten.