After a delay caused by normal traffic dropping oil on the course racing began at TT2025. The delay meant that the Superbike Race was reduced to 4 laps; the first Sidecar Race was cut to 2 laps; whilst the Supersport 1 was run over 3 laps. The weather gave us of high cloud when racing began; then it cleared to give bright sunshine for the Sidecar and Supersport Races. The main feature was the strengthening wind that was most notable on the mountain section; one that meant many could not pull 6th gear in the Supersport Race.

The Superbike Race fired into life at noon with Dean Harrison launching his Fireblade towards Bray Hill. Dean is always a fast starter; today he was marginally slower than Davey Todd on the run to Glen Helen. Michael Dunlop was 2.882s down on Harrison. Local star Nathan Harrison; who joined the 130mph club during practice; held 4th, 3.98s down on Dunlop. Mike Browne was 5th with James Hind 6th; just 0.3s covered 4th to 7th.

Todd was fastest to Ballaugh; his lead 2s as he hopped over the famous bridge. There was a healthy number of spectators gathered at Schoolhouse Corner in Ramsey to watch the action unfold; they were not disappointed; the speed simply awesome to someone who first watched there 60 years ago. The works Hondas were first to power through the left hand bend and head towards Parliament Square; Harrison a couple of metres ahead of McGuinness. Davo Johnson was next; then it was Dunlop; he held a tighter line than the others. After James Hillier it was Todd; rapid and also holding a tight line. Todd was fastest on the sector; he led by 5.87s. Dunlop was 3rd; just 1.04s down on Dean Harrison. Nathan Harrison; Dominic Herbertson and Mike Browne completed the top 6. Conor Cummins had issues with his Burrow’s BMW that led to his retirement in the pits. Newcomer Mitch Rees blotted his copybook by going into Ramsey Hairpin too hot; he had an argument with the air fence. He was unhurt, but out of the race.

Todd was fastest up the mountain to lead by 7.767s; but it was from Dunlop who had edged  ahead of Harrison by 0.02s. An opening lap of 134.275mph gave Todd a lead of 7.89s over Dunlop (133.236mph). Dean Harrison (133.051mph) was 3rd; Nathan Harrison; Mike Browne, Dom Herbertson, Davo Johnson, Josh Brookes and James Hillier all lapped at over 130mph.

Dunlop was quickest to Glen Helen on lap 2; Todd quickest to Ballaugh and again into Ramsey where his lead was 7.5s as he began the mountain climb. Dean Harrison was rapid through Schoolhouse; where Dunlop was up to second on the road; with Hillier close behind him. Dunlop was quickest over the mountain and at the Grandstand he was 7.185s down on Todd as he entered pit lane. Todd had a slow stop; dropping 6s to the leading contenders. Dean Harrison, Nathan Harrison, Davo Johnson and Josh Brookes completed the top 6. Shaun Anderson, who had been 11th crashed out at Joey’s; thankfully he was okay; but out of the afternoon’s Supersport race.

Could Dunlop take advantage; close the gap and grab victory number 30? At Glen Helen, Todd’s lead was 1.59s due to the time lost. Todd had increased his advantage to over 3s at Ballaugh; but he ran wide going into Parliament Square at Ramsey on lap 3 losing time; cutting his lead to under 2s. Dean Harrison; Nathan Harrison, Johnson and Hillier completed the top 6. Locals were impressing; Mikey Evans held 9th; Marcus Simpson 15th and Jamie Cringle 16th. Amalric Blanc raised a few pulse rates at Schoolhouse as he ran very wide in to the bus stop alongside the course. Dunlop pulled back 0.619s on the mountain to go into the final lap 1.951s down on Todd.

Dunlop produced the fastest time of the day to Glen Helen; cutting Todd’s lead to 0.269s. He caught Harrison in Kirk Michael where there is only line through the village; he managed a pass going into Rhencullen (Birkin’s Bend), but the time lost meant that Todd was fastest on the sector to Ballaugh; his lead up to 2.27s with just over half of the final lap left to complete. Both were noticeably wider at Schoolhouse than they had been on lap 1; both pushing to the limit. The action was excellent with several private duels; notably Evans and Paul Jordan; adding to the entertainment for the crowd. Todd’s lead was 1.094s as the final climb of the mountain began. Todd was the quickest over the mountain; he led by 2.548s at Cronk ny Mona just over a mile from the finish line. Dunlop gave it his all; but it was not enough; Todd had a margin of 1.296s at the end of an enthralling race. Dean Harrison took the final podium place. Nathan Harrison set his best ever lap at 131.113mph on his way to a superb 4th place finish. Davo Johnson took 5th as reward for his fine ride. James Hillier secured 6th; John McGuinness 7th; both lapped at over 131mph on the final lap.

Mikey Evans finished 9th, aided by his best lap of 129.594mph. Amalric Blanc; still a relative newcomer; was best of the European riders in 12th.

RST X D30 Superbike Race

  1. Davey Todd              8TEN BMW                                         132.495mph
  2. Michael Dunlop      MD Racing BMW                                132.453mph
  3. Dean Harrison        Honda                                                    131.062mph
  4. Nathan Harrison    H & H Honda                                       129.273mph
  5. Davo Johnson         Platinum Club Kawasaki                    128.763mph
  6. James Hillier           Muc-Off Honda                                   128.687mph

The practice form suggested that the main interest would be in who would finish second behind the Crowe brothers in the Sidecar Races. That is exactly how Race 1 panned out; they set off like scalded cats; by Glen Helen at lap 1 they led by 11.367s from Ben Birchall / Patrick Rosney. Lewis Blackstock and newcomer passenger Oscar Lawrence were third, only 0.143s down. Lee Crawford / Scott Hardie; Todd Ellis / Emmanuelle Clement and Robert Dawson / Matthew Sims completed the top 6. There was disappointment for newcomer driver Stephen Kershaw and Rhys Gibbons; they retired at Ballacraine.

17miles out at Ballaugh the lead was over 20s; Blackstock was 2nd, 0.318s ahead of Birchall. The Crowe brothers were rapid at Schoolhouse where Ryan was tucked under the fairing; something repeated by Oscar Lawrence. Having lost the 10s distance interval by Ballaugh newcomers Kieran Clarke and Andrew Johnson had an on track battle with Ellis / Clement that lasted to the finish. The lead at Ramsey was over 25s; the advantage for Birchall / Rosner over Blackstock / Lawrence was 0.243s. Crawford; Ellis and Clarke completed the top 6. The Crowe brothers continued to pull 1s per mile out of the chasers. An opening lap of 119.418mph gave them a lead of 36.24s as they sped across the line to begin the final lap. Birchall / Rosney (115.731mph) were 2.46s ahead of Blackstock / Lawrence. Crawford; Ellis and Clarke held 4th to 6th.

The Crowes were on lap record pace at Glen Helen; they were 5s inside the record at Ballaugh. Behind them Blackstock had problems that forced him to stop between Barregarrow and the 13th.  The fault was cleared but they dropped 2 minutes, and any chance of the podium was gone. They recovered to finish 7th. At Schoolhouse, the Crowe brothers were 10s inside the existing lap record; the engine sounding sweet. They were now 62.3s ahead of Birchall / Rosney who were 8.264s ahead of Crawford / Hardie. The Crowes were 3s off record pace climbing the mountain; but were rapid on the descent crossing the line with a new lap record in their pockets; their speed an amazing 121.021mph. Their winning margin over Birchall / Rosney was 77.67s; for Patrick it was a first podium finish. Lee Crawford / Scott Hardie also secured their first podium finish.

3Wheeling.Media Sidecar Race 1

  1. Ryan Crowe / Callum Crowe Opul / Kelproperties Honda                        120.214mph
  2. Ben Birchall / Patrick Rosney Hager / Wyckham Blackwell Honda        116.220mph
  3. Lee Crawford / Scott Hardie Team ARC / SJH Bodyworks Kawasaki    115.363mph
  4. Todd Ellis / Emmanuelle Clement Brookland Sand & Gravel Yamaha  113.809mph
  5. Kieran Clarke / Andrew Johnson Eddy’s Moto Yamaha                            113.384mph
  6. Steve Ramsden / Matty Ramsden Oliver’s Mount Honda                         110.813mph

The final race had lovely blue sky; but the increasingly strong wind caused the riders some problems; mainly on the mountain section. Practice pacesetter Dean Harrison blasted out of the starting blocks; he led by 3.424s 9 miles into lap 1 at Glen Helen. Michael Dunlop was second on the Ducati Panagale that had been so impressive at the NW200. Always fast starting, James Hillier was third 1.17sdown on Dunlop. Davey Todd, local star Mikey Evans and Paul Jordan completed our top 6.

Harrison was fastest to Ballaugh where his lead was 4.63s. Hillier continued to hold 3rd; Todd, Evans and Jordan held their positions. Harrison was first to sweep through Schoolhouse; next was Davo Johnson; then it was Dunlop on the booming Panagale. Paul Jordan was notable absentee; he had retired at Glen Tramman. The action was excellent for the enthusiastic crowd. The lead for Harrison was just over 5s as they began the first climb of the mountain. Hillier was third, 4.72s down on Dunlop and just 0.416s ahead of Todd. Mikey Evans was enjoying a great ride in 5th; 2.44s ahead of Mike Browne. Harrison was fastest over the mountain to lead by 7.481s after a lap at 127.888mph compared to Dunlop’s 126.993mph. Hillier, Todd, Evans and Browne completed our top 6.

Dunlop raised his game; he was marginally faster to Glen Helen; but then set a sector record time to Ballaugh; cutting the lead to 5.595s. Another sector record cut it to 4.05s. Mike Browne failed to reach us at Schoolhouse; he had overshot at Sulby Bridge and undertaken some unscheduled grass cutting; only his pride was injured. Hillier was 19.8s behind Dunlop; but was now 6.4s ahead of Todd. Josh Brookes was flying and had taken 5th from Evans.

Starting the final lap Harrison led by 2.936s from Dunlop. Hillier was secure in 3rd; Todd held 4th, Brookes 5th; with Rob Hodson 6th; with Evans having retired. A sector record to Glen Helen allowed Dunlop to cut the lead to 0.886s at Glen Helen. Another record gave him the lead by 0.104s at Ballaugh. Another sector best into Ramsey; aided by being 6mph faster on Sulby Straight; gave Dunlop a lead of 3.046s at the start of the mountain ascent. Fastest on the final three sectors he crossed the line to secure his 30th TT victory with a final lap at 130.313mph; the fastest lap ever by a Ducati. Ducati became the 7th manufacturer for which he has won a TT. His margin of victory was 10.229s. James Hillier’s fine ride secured for him his 15th podium finish; his previous one was in 2019. Conor Cummins was best local in 10th on the Burrows Panagale; Dean Harrison was 12th despite incurring a 30s penalty for being 0.1mph over the pit lane limit; seems more than harsh for a tiny infringement.

Monster Energy Supersport Race 1

  1. Michael Dunlop Milwaukee / Quattro Ducati                      127.500mph
  2. Dean Harrison    Honda                                                            127.093mph
  3. James Hillier       Bournemouth Kawasaki                            125.331mph
  4. Davey Todd         Milenco Padgetts Honda                            124.642mph
  5. Josh Brookes       Jackson Honda                                            124.247mph
  6. Rob Hodson         SMT / VRS Yamaha                                    123.201mph

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