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Superstock TT race report
This years superstock TT race began in pretty much perfect conditions around the TT course. At Glen Helen on lap 1 it was Gary Johnson on the JRC racing ZX10 Kawasaki who lead James Hillier by over a second with John Mcguinness in third place, Michael Dunlop held fourth and Guy Martin occupied fifth place. As lap 1 went on Gary Johnson increased his lead at the front to over 3 seconds as Michael Dunlop slotted into second place in front of Guy Martin who was now into third position.
At the end of lap 1 Johnson lead Dunlop by over 4 seconds, Guy Martin was in third place not to far behind Dunlop whilst John Mcguinness and James Hillier where closely matched in 5th and 6th places. Lap 2 began with Gary Johnson maintaining his lead out at the front but Michael Dunlop was getting quicker and was now by mid-way point on lap 3 only 3 seconds down. Guy Martin still held third place and wasn’t to far behind the leading trio whilst John Mcguinness moved into fourth place ahead of Dean Harrison on the RC Express racing Kawasaki by MSS performance superstock bike.
By Ramsey on lap 2 the battle between Johnson and Dunlop was getting tighter and tighter with Martin holding a consistent third place. Mcguinness was still in fourth place with Harrison still occupying a fine fifth place. James Hillier held sixth place in front of Bruce Anstey, the Milwaukee Yamaha’s of William Dunlop and Conor Cummins where both in the top 15 in the race before reliability issues struck Conor’s R1 stocker which meant Conor had to retire from the race.
As lap 2 came to a close Gary Johnson still lead but now by only 1.5 seconds over Michael Dunlop with Guy Martin maintaining third place in front of John Mcguinness and Dean Harrison. The pit-stops brought drama with Guy Martin attaining a time penalty of 30 seconds which meant Gary Johnson still lead but now by over 3 seconds over Michael Dunlop who had a slow pit-stop and now John Mcguinness was into third place ahead of Dean Harrison now into 4th with Guy Martin back now into 5th place.
Lap 3 at Glen Helen saw Johnson move further ahead of Dunlop, the lead was now over 4 seconds. Martin having had his time penalty was now back in fifth place behind John Mcguinness and Dean Harrison. Bruce Anstey was fast reeling James Hillier in for sixth place whilst Michael Rutter, William Dunlop and Steve Mercer completed the top 10 on lap 3 at Glen Helen.
Gary Johnson’s lead at the front of the race was soon down to under 4 seconds as Michael Dunlop began a charge over the mountain on lap 3. Guy Martin was a confirmed retirement on lap 3 this meant that Bruce Anstey was now into fifth place with James Hillier now holding sixth position. As lap 3 came to a close Johnson still lead but now by only 2.9 seconds over Dunlop in second place, Mcguinness remained in third place ahead of Dean Harrison who lapped at a personal best lap time of over 128.1 mph.
Michael Rutter ended lap 3 in seventh on the Bathams Honda stock bike in front of William Dunlop and Steve Mercer who where producing one of the best battles in the race for eighth place. So the final lap approached and Johnson who lead right from Glen Helen on lap 1 was now being fast reeled in by Dunlop and by Glen Helen on lap 4 Dunlop was now in the lead but by only 0.1 of a second over Johnson. John Mcguinness remained in third place ahead of Dean Harrison whilst Bruce Anstey and James Hillier remained in fifth and sixth positions.
By Ballaugh bridge on lap 4 Michael Dunlop now had nearly a 1 second lead over Gary Johnson. As the leading trio made it to Ramsey Dunlop pulled out now a lead of up to 2.5 seconds, positions within the top 10 remained the same apart from the battle for eighth place which saw Steve Mercer now into eighth ahead of William Dunlop.
The action out at the front was sensational and when the riders crossed the chequered flag Michael Dunlop clinched his third win of TT 2013 and his sixth TT race win in all. Michael’s final lap also saw him set a new superstock TT lap record with a lap speed of 131.220 mph, an amazing lap time. Gary Johnson finished in second place, a superb ride by Gary and the leading Kawasaki in the race.
John Mcguinness recorded another TT podium finish on the HM Plant Honda by Padgetts motorcycles superstock bike, Dean Harrison finished the superstock TT race in 4th place to record a personal best finish. A truly brilliant ride by Dean who surely is set to become a TT superstar. Bruce Anstey, James Hillier, and Michael Rutter finished in 5th, 6th and 7th places. For Steve Mercer the superstock TT race provided Steve with his first top 10 finish at the TT, finishing in eighth place on the Penz 13.com BMW superstock bike.
William Dunlop and Ben Wylie on the AFC motorsport backed SR1000 BMW completed the top 10 in this years superstock TT race. Leading TT newcomer in the race Horst Saiger finished in 18th place, Horst also joined the 120 mph lap lapping at 122.9 mph on his Kawasaki Switzerland backed bike. A quite stunning ride from Michael Dunlop on the last lap brought him his sixth TT win and this race win was probably so far Michael Dunlop’s best race at the Isle of Man TT.
