By Blue skies, the sun beaming down upon the Grandstand, an entry brimmed with world class, super human quality, the stage was set for one of the most competitive Superstock TT’s of modern times, as race action got underway at 3:10 PM.
Lap 1:
Ominously early into formidable form, Smiths Racing’s Peter Hickman held at Glen Helen on lap 1, an advantage of pretty much 1.7 seconds over respected rival, Silicone Engineering Racing’s Dean Harrison.
Hickman’s lead grew to 2.32 at Ballaugh Bridge, whilst third place was held by an on the charge Michael Dunlop, as James Hillier, Conor Cummins and Michael Rutter finalised the top six.
The run to Ramsey Hairpin proved as at previous sectors very productive, for outright lap record holder Hickman, extending his race advantage to nigh on four seconds.
The race lead by Cronk Ny Mona stood at eight seconds! By the time he entered the pits for his mandatory pit stop, Hickman’s lead was plus nine seconds over Harrison, with third placed Dunlop just a further 4.2 behind.
Hillier, Honda Racing’s David Johnson, number 1 plate holder Cummins completed the top six at the end of a pulsating opening lap, which saw race leader Hickman top the 132 mph lap mark.
Lap 2:
Following the scheduled pit stops, Harrison trimmed Hickman’s advantage by three seconds at Glen Helen, now standing 5.8 behind the reigning Superstock TT champion.
It was normal service resumed at Ballaugh Bridge, with Hickman stretching the race lead to almost seven seconds.
By Ramsey Hairpin his race advantage dipped over the 9 second mark, whilst the journey to the Bungalow proved even more productive, moving a further four seconds clear of Harrison, taking the overall lead to 13.13 seconds.
At the completion of lap two, Hickman enjoyed a very healthy lead of 16 and a half seconds over Harrison. Dunlop remained in third place, but was steadily coming under pressure from lead Honda runner Johnson, with the battle for third separated by just under 3.26 seconds.
Cummins occupied fifth, Bathams-Aspire Ho supported Rutter held sixth, whilst Quattro Plant Wicked Coatings Kawasaki’s Hillier who was handed a thirty second pit lane speeding penalty, dropped back to seventh.
Lap 3:
18 seconds clear at Glen Helen, there was no stopping runaway race leader Hickman during the early part of the third and final lap.
Outside Hickman and Harrison, the battle for third was hotting up, as Adelaide’s Johnson overhauled Dunlop for third, with only 0.124 of a second covering them at Ballaugh Bridge.
Photo by Nick Wheeler
Dunlop reclaimed third position at Ramsey Hairpin, moving half a second clear of Johnson, as class pace setter Hickman moved one step closer to Superstock TT glory, holding a now ultra strong 22 second advantage.
There was no change within the leading group at the Bungalow, but the battle for third between Dunlop and Johnson, continued to captivate the large crowd around the TT course, with still under a second covering the evenly matched duo.
As Peter Hickman clinched in style a fifth TT victory, second successive Royal London 360 Superstock TT triumph, by a margin of 26 seconds over Dean Harrison, the battle for third concluded in dramatic style as David Johnson secured a maiden TT rostrum finish by only 0.208 of a second, over 18 times TT winner Michael Dunlop.
Milenco by Padgetts Conor Cummins finished fifth, Michael Rutter clinched sixth, James Hillier as aforementioned hampered by a pit lane speeding infringement was seventh, whilst Davey Todd and PreZ Racing’s Jamie Coward both impressed in acquiring very respectable eighth, ninth place finishes.
RAF Regular & Reserves Kawasaki’s Gary Johnson concluded the top ten finishers, whilst others to enjoy productive Superstock race voyages included Stefano Bonetti (15th), Shaun Anderson (16th), Jay Lawrence (17th), Xavier Denis (19th), Forest Dunn (22nd) and TT newcomer Lukas Maurer (38th).
The Royal London 360 Superstock TT race result, is as follows:
1 Peter Hickman
2 Dean Harrison
3 David Johnson
4 Michael Dunlop
5 Conor Cummins
6 Michael Rutter
7 James Hillier
8 Davey Todd
9 Jamie Coward
10 Gary Johnson
11 Brian McCormack
12 Lee Johnston
13 Sam West
14 Paul Jordan
15 Stefano Bonetti
16 Shaun Anderson
17 Jay Lawrence
18 Michael Sweeney
19 Xavier Denis
20 Mark Parrett
21 Rob Hodson
22 Forest Dunn
23 James Chawke
24 Michael Booth
25 Frank Gallagher
26 David Jackson
27 Horst Saiger
28 Ryan Kneen
29 Michael Russell
30 Richard Wilson
31 Dave Hewson
32 Joe Akroyd
33 Julian Trummer
34 Davy Morgan
35 Marc Ironside
36 Richard Charlton
37 Tom Weeden
38 Lukas Maurer
39 George Spence
40 Paul Williams
41 Mark Goodings
42 Morgan Govignon
43 Josh Daley
44 Anthony Redmond
45 Adrian Harrison
46 Rhys Hardisty
47 Barry Furber
48 Jonathan Perry
Words by Stevie Rial
