Isle of Man TT 2018 results: Dean Harrison wins Supersport race two after Michael Dunlop hit with penalty
Harrison lead home Peter Hickman and James Hillier after Michael Dunlop was hit with a 30-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane
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Your support makes all the difference.After a week of near-misses, Dean Harrison finally graced the top step of the podium with victory in the Monster Energy Supersport race two, with nearest rival Michael Dunlop hit with a penalty for speeding in the pit lane after being clocked just 0.214mph over the limit.
The 29-year-old broke the official lap record in Saturday’s Superbike TT only to be forced to retire with a clutch issue while leading, and had to make do with podium finishes in Monday’s Supersport race one and Superstock TT.
But four years after making his initial breakthrough on the Isle of Man with victory in the Lightweight category, Harrison secured his second win at the TT with a convincing triumph over Monday’s Superstock winner in Peter Hickman, with James Hillier rounding out the podium.
Despite finishing second on the timesheet, Dunlop was relegated to fifth after being handed a 30-second time penalty for exceeding the pit lane speed limit when stopping at the end of lap two.
But even if Dunlop had not been given the time sanction, he had no answer for Harrison’s consistency in Wednesday morning’s event. Harrison, like he has all week, seized the lead from the get-go and extended a lead of nearly two seconds by Glen Helen to 9.330s by the time he and Dunlop headed for the pits.
Hickman meanwhile had to battle from behind to pass Hillier for third, which would subsequently become second once Dunlop took his medicine for speeding to secure a second consecutive podium finish for the Smiths Racing Trooper Triumph this week, while Hillier returned his JG Speedfit Kawasaki to the rostrum after finishing third in Saturday’s opening Superbike event.
Unfortunately, Dunlop’s penalty took the sting out of the race as it gave Harrison a near-20 second advantage as he departed for the penultimate lap, and despite Hickman being kept honest by Hillier, the gap remained at a comfortable advantage throughout the final circuit as the Yorkshireman cruised home for victory.
“We’ve been trying all week and it’s finally paid off,” said Harrison. “We’ve got the win that we came here to get and I‘m over the moon.
“The weather conditions were probably a bit too hot so we could have down with it being a bit cooler.”
When informed about Dunlop’s penalty, Harrison had sympathy for his main rival. “30 seconds is a bit harsh, I will admit that,” he added. “I got a board that said 22 [seconds] and I thought someone had dropped out but I kept pushing because I know how fast Peter [Hickman] is on the final lap.”
With a Lightweight TT win now added to by victory on the 600cc Kawasaki, Harrison will turn his attentions towards a first win on the big bikes in the form of Friday’s Senior TT.
“We’ll try. I’ll always do my best and we’ll see where we end up,” he said.
There was solace for Dunlop later in the days as he took the spoils in the three-lap Bennetts Lightweight TT, and while the Supersport proved to be the first race this week that failed to see the existing lap record broken, the smaller bikes in action on Wednesday delivered on their promise.
Dunlop sealed his 18th victory at the TT by inheriting the lead when Ivan Lintin retired on lap two, although the North Irishman’s record lap of 122.750mph would likely have been enough to put him into the lead regardless. Dunlop led home Derek McGee to take the victory by 14.6s, with Michael Rutter completing the podium.
Rutter would grace the top step though as he sealed victory in the one-lap SES TT Zero, a race ran solely on electric bikes. The 46-year-old lapped the TT course at 121.824 on the Mugen, becoming the first rider to exceed the 120mph barrier on an electric machine, and took more than 20 seconds of John McGuinness’ existing lap record. Daley Mathison managed to split the two Mugens as he took second on the University of Nottingham entry, with Lee Johnston finishing third and all three receiving their trophies on the podium from the Duke of Cambridge Prince William.
Result
1. Dean Harrison 1:11:28.059
2. Peter Hickman +18.671s
3. James Hillier +30.449s
4. Conor Cummins +40.274s
5. Michael Dunlop +46.101s
6. Josh Brookes +1:23.136mins
7. Lee Johnston +1:37.406mins
8. Gary Johnson +1:57.598mins
9. James Cowton +2:00.589mins
10. Ivan Linton +2:11.793mins
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