How a “special” Honda took Dean Harrison to an Isle of Man TT first

Dean Harrison has explained how the “special bike” Honda built for him helped him to his first Superbike race victory at the Isle of Man TT.

The Yorkshireman had previously taken wins in the Supersport, Superstock and Senior categories at the TT, but had yet to claim victory in the Superbike race.

He changed that on Sunday, as he dominated the opening Superbike TT of the 2026 races ahead of Peter Hickman and Michael Dunlop.

Harrison raced with something of a hybrid Superstock/Superbike, which made his Honda more rider-friendly.

“Honestly, over the moon. I went hard from the start and tried to get a gap, as a bit of a buffer,” he told TT+

“I felt strong all week, to be honest; I probably had a bit in the tank.

“So, I got stuck in and got a decent lead to come into the pits and tried to manage it from there.

“But it’s so hard to keep the concentration. Six laps around here is so physical to do, and it’s literally point to point to point to keep pushing the whole time.

“So, to get a Superbike win for me, I said to Neil Fletcher, the boss, ‘I really want to win a six-lap Superbike race’.

“So, we went away, we built a special bike with Honda.

“So, I need to say a big thanks to them because they pulled it out of the bag for me, and I feel like I paid them back now with a Superbike win.

“So, it’s good for me, because I’ve got a win in every single one now: I’ve got Superbike, Supersport, Senior, Superstock. So, hopefully there’s a few more to come.”

He added: “The bike never missed a beat the whole race.

“It made it easier to ride, because around here, yes, you’ve got to be fast, but it’s also an endurance at the same time.

“We’re racing for nearly two hours and, honestly, it’s so physical to race round here on one of those big bikes now with them being so fast, so powerful.

“So, you’ve got to have something of a happy medium. You’ve got to be fast but it can’t wear you out in case it’s a bit of a dogfight come the last lap.”

Harrison's win tally now stands at six, with the Honda rider favourite to double up in the Superstock class and fight for a second Senior win later in the week.