Dean Harrison considering bike change for Senior TT: “We’re going to discuss it”

Honda Racing UK rider Dean Harrison says he is considering running an altered version of his Superstock-specification Honda CBR1000RR-R in the Isle of Man Senior TT.

Harrison took victory in the second Superstock race of this year’s TT road races on Friday, beating 2024 Superstock TT winner Davey Todd by 16 seconds after the 8Ten Racing rider ran into problems at the pit stop.

The results in the Superstock class and the speed Harrison has been able to find on his Superstock bike, on which he was able to clock a 135.6mph lap in Superstock Race 1, has led to the consideration that he could race a Superstock-derived bike in the Superbike-spec Senior TT on Saturday.

“We have been in talks about that, about changing a few things and trying to make the bike easier for me to ride in the Senior,” said Harrison, who was 40 seconds off the win in the Superbike TT on Monday, in his TV podium interview after his second Superstock success.

“I suppose if it is going to be six laps, six laps is so physical around this place, it’s something we’re definitely going to sit down and discuss over dinner, let’s say.”

“Words can’t describe” Superstock double

Winning Friday’s Superstock Race 2 meant a sweep in the class for Harrison, who had never won more than one TT race in one event before.

Although thoughts had quickly turned to the Senior TT on Saturday, Harrison nonetheless was keen to appreciate what he’d achieved in the Superstock class.

“Words can’t describe it,” he said.

“I’m absolutely over the moon to get two wins in the Superstock race.

“I got off to a real hard start, I read my pit board and I was P1, P2, and P1 over the Mountain.

“I saw P1 +13 coming out of Glen Helen on lap two, I thought ‘Oh’.

“I carried on as hard as I could and thought ‘I’ll carry on this lap to try and manage that, if I can keep that lead the same there’s no way someone’s going to make 13 or 14 seconds on me in a lap.’

“So, I just kept my head down and I got to P1 +20, and I just read my board from there and just managed it and sort of knocked it off a little bit on the last lap and just brought it home.

“Massive thanks to the whole team and Honda, everyone’s put a brilliant bike together and it’s great to see the Honda Fireblade on P1.”

Harrison added that he feels he and his Honda team have been able to dial out some of the instability issues they were struggling with during practice week.

“We’re constantly trying to adapt,” he said.

“Everyone’s in the same boat here, really, it’s such a difficult place. Trying to set your bike up around here is a bit of a compromise.

“We had a little bit of a stability issue which we’ve near enough cured now, and it just means that I can ride the bike how I want to ride the bike.

“I can go fast, I’ve proved that this week; I just need a bit of luck on my side on the day and here we are.”