Close decision and fierce competition in Supersport race
The decision in the race was extremely close: Dunlop was in the lead right from the start, but the competition was close on his heels. Just 0.1 seconds separated him from Dean Harrison (BPE by Russell Racing Yamaha) at Glen Helen on the first lap. With Peter Hickman (K2 Trooper Beer Triumph) and Davey Todd (Milenco by Padgetts Honda) just another 1.7 seconds back, the battle for the top spot was still wide open. Not even two seconds separated the top four riders.
Dunlop extends lead and sets historic lap record
As the lap progressed, however, Dunlop extended his lead. At Ballaugh, his lead over Harrison was already 2.6 seconds, with Hickman just 0.8 seconds behind. Dunlop was able to steadily extend his lead as the race progressed, eventually setting a historic lap with an average speed of 130.403mph (about 209.9km/h). In doing so, he set a new Supersport lap record.
Hickman and Harrison also beat old lap record
But Dunlop was not the only one to shine on this day: Peter Hickman also broke the 130mph (approx. 209km/h) sound barrier and ended up in second place, just over nine seconds behind. Also notable was the performance of Dean Harrison, who also beat the old lap record to finish third.
Good result for newcomers
The newcomers were also convincing: Jamie Coward, who started in eleventh position, fought his way up to sixth place and James Hind, on his Bass Tyre Services Yamaha, also made it into the top six.
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