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Main. Local man Conor Cummins wore the number-one plate this year and lead the way down Bray Hill 1. John
McGuinness wished he could race, but a parade lap was all he was afforded 2. Motorcycle nut Prince William made the
trip over and here, meets Michael Rutter 3. Michael Dunlop grabbed a Supersport win 4. This was where Aussie Dave
Johnson’s Senior TT ended, with a mechanical DNF 5. The Glencrutchery Road start and finish line is adjacent to
Douglas Cemetry 6. If you can drag your eyes away from Mr Long-shorts-no-shirt-smokey-nose-Sidi-boots, check the
poor old collected seagull Hickman is swooping by on the way to his Superstock TT win
endofMarch.Itleftlittle
testingtimetohonehisS1000
RR and meant he, Hickman
and the other riders running
Dunlop tyres struggled to
find enough grip and stability
to match Harrison’s pace
on Metzeler rubber. New
specification Dunlop tyres
were f lown in for the final
Senior TT practice session.
“Credit to Dunlop,”
Hickman said. “We have given
them a lot of shit these last
two weeks, not just me but all
of us Dunlop riders. “We
needed to find something and
they managed to fire some
tyres out that no one has ever
tested before.
“We did a lap on it and
it was fairly positive. We felt
it was worth the risk to have
a go at staying with Dean as
much as possible.”
Hickman’s confidence
going into the Senior race had
been boosted by a dramaticvictoryintheSuperstock
event. In what was to be a
rehearsal for the blue-riband
race, the 30-year-old came
from behind on the last lap
with a charge across the
mountain to pip Dunlop and
claim his first TT victory.
And it was Harrison who
pushed hard from the drop of
the f lag in the six-lap Senior.
Over the run to Ballaugh
Bridge the Bradford man
was unmatchable, opening
a five- or six-second gap on
the chasing pack. But the
race developed into a cat-
and-mouse that would prove
crucial on the final circuit.
From Ballaugh to Ramsey,
Hickman cut Harrison’s lead
on every lap, helped by his
faster Smith’s BMW along the
f lat-out Sulby Straight. But
the big Staffordshire rider
came into his own over the
Mountain section, which suits
his short-circuit style.The new Dunlop tyres
hadn’t provided the solution
to Michael Dunlop’s
superbike problems though.
With a fastest lap of just
131.810mph, he wasn’t able
to match the 134mph and
135mph laps Hickman and
Harrison were blasting out,
eventually finishing fourth
behind Conor Cummins
on the Padgett’s Honda.
Hickman, however, had no
such worries.
“The last half of the final lap
was sweet as a nut,” he smiled.
“I knew it was going to come
down to the last lap and I just
rode it as hard as I could. I
was quite happy going into it
within a few seconds of Dean
because I have been strong
over the mountain.”
After getting a ‘P2 minus 5’
board at Sulby he had reduced
the deficit to just two seconds
at Ramsey. For the first time,
Hickman led the race at theBungalow by 0.8 seconds.
“The bike was absolutely
perfect and the set-up for
over the mountain was bang
on, allow ing me to grab it by
the horns and really
attack. I knew it was going to
be close,” Hickman said.
Having led for five and
a half laps, Harrison was
beaten by just 2.5 seconds at
the line. Hickman’s charge
to the chequered f lag saw the
BSB star establish the new
135.452 outright record and
a new Senior race record at
131.70mph.
Manxman Conor Cummins
claimed his second superbike
podium finish of the week
with third spot in the Senior
TT. The result for the Padgett’s
Honda star meant the factory
Tyco BMW, Quattro Plant/
JG Speedfit Kawasaki and
Honda Racing squads were all
eclipsed by independent
teams in this year’s Senior.The factory squads were all eclipsed by
independent teams in this year’s Senior
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