Despite bagging four wins at last year’s Isle of Man TT, Yorkshireman Ian Hutchinson left wanting more – victories in the Superbike or Senior races.
Since then Ian’s made a number of changes to his setup at Tyco BMW which includes a switch to Dunlop rubber; and it seems to be working as the Bingley Bullet took the opening victory of the TT in last night’s thrilling Superbike race.
Arch rival Michael Dunlop was fastest out of the gates as he set the quickest lap of the race on the opening lap with a 131.135mph from a standing start, but he was forced to retire from the lead on the Suzuki at Handley’s on lap two.
From then on it was a battle of the aitch’s as Harrison, Hutchinson, Hillier and Hickman all battled for the lead.
With his Tyco squad on form in the pits two quick stops saw Hutchy grab the lead on lap 3 and lap 5, chased down by Peter Hickman who at one point cut the lead to just 1.5 seconds on the Smiths Racing BMW.
Eventually Hickman would have to settle for 2nd place and his first ever TT podium, giving Dunlop tyres a well deserved 1 – 2 in this week’s opening contest, with Dean Harrison taking 3rd to round out the podium.
With the weather very much against them this year, organisers and competitors have had to make do with a lack of practice time around the famous Mountain Course which certainly contributed to slower lap times in the opening race.
Also riding for Dunlop David Johnson brought the #1 Norton home in 7th place with teammate Josh Brookes in 8th and William Dunlop in 9th.
It was a difficult return to the TT for Guy Martin with Honda Racing, the Lincolnshire rider taking a tumble at Doran’s in lap one as the bike reportedly hit a false neutral. Padgett’s Honda rider Bruce Anstey came home in 13th whilst teammate Conor Cummins was forced to retire with just over one lap to go.
The weather today isn’t great and the schedule has been pushed back ahead of the first eagerly anticipated Supersport contest.
Can Hutchy beat his own record of 5 wins in a single week, set at the TT with Dunlop in 2010?
Find out more about Dunlop’s race tyre range here.
