2022 Isle of Man TT | Michael Dunlop shakes off Hickman for Supersport double
A race delayed repeatedly amid bad weather on The Mountain, Friday morning’s encounter played out in a similar manner to race one with Dunlop setting the pace but facing tough competition from directly behind, albeit this time with Peter Hickman leading the chase.
A re-match of their thrilling Supertwins tussle on Wednesday, once more Dunlop and Hickman were barely separated through the initial splits as they moved clear of Dean Harrison in third place.
While technical issues in Supertwins scuppered his victory hopes late on, the MD Racing Yamaha R6 continued to hit its marks as Dunlop eased his advantage over Hickman ever so slightly at each split.
With the margin exceeding one second for the first time coming down Glen Helen for the second and final lap of the shortened race, Dunlop pushed on to victory again, more than three seconds clear of Hickman.
Dunlop’s second success of the week represents his ninth victory in the Supersport class. It is also the 21st TT win of his career, putting him within five victories of matching his uncle’s 26 victory benchmark.
A three-time TT winner this week already, Hickman’s hopes of matching Ian Hutchinson’s Isle of Man TT record of five in a week came to an end, though second place was a step forward over race one and remains his fifth podium.
Harrison trailed in third on the DAO Kawasaki, more than 20secs behind Hickman, while Davey Todd got the better of Jamie Coward to cross the line fourth and fifth respectively. His Milenco b Padgetts Honda team-mate Conor Cummins ensured the team a double top six in sixth position, ahead of James Hillier and Dominic Herbertson.
The TT will conclude tonight with the final race of the week, the blue riband Senior TT.
