2024 Isle of Man TT
SuperTwin TT Race One
A new King was crowned today on the Isle of Man when Michael Dunlop won the Metzeler Supertwins TT in devasting style to record his 27th TT win, breaking the 24 year-old record of his Uncle Joey in the process. The Ballymoney man was never headed in the race and if the truth be told, once the flag dropped, an MD victory never looked in doubt. Dunlop brought his beautiful, almost ornamental, little Paton home 20s clear of Peter Hickman, with Dominic Herbertson scoring a popular debut podium in third.
Last Sunday, when Michael equalled Joey’s record, he struggled to articulate the words when describing the huge weight that had been lifted off his shoulders after finally achieving the unthinkable. This morning (Wednesday), there was no evidence of that pressure. Dunlop put in a masterful performance; a display of excellence that proved to the world that he deserves to be now known as the greatest TT rider ever. Today, ‘The Bull’ became the ‘The GOAT’.
The race had originally been due to take place 24 hours previously, However, poor weather conditions on the island had dictated that Tuesday’s programme could not go ahead during the day. It was then pencilled in for a 1940 Tuesday evening start. But when riders returned from a practice lap and deemed the conditions as unsuitable, it was decided that a Wednesday morning race would be the best course of action.
TT fans woke to bright sunlight shining all over the island on Wednesday, but the sunny scene didn’t tell the full story. Gusting winds left a chilly feel in the air, and the cool conditions meant damp patches on various parts of the course were still struggling to dry. Nevertheless, after a morning warm-up lap, the Supertwins were wheeled to the grid and at 1145, it was time to go racing.
An extensive list of non-starters was read out before the race began, and a depleted field started off down Glencrutchery Road. However, all potential podium finishers were present, and by the time they got to Glen Helen on lap one, less than 10s covered the top six.
Dunlop was leading Dominic Herbertson by 3s with Rob Hodson just 0.1 back in 3rd, ahead of Jamie Coward, Peter Hickman and Mike Browne.
First away at no. 1 had been Paul Jordan, but Jamie Coward had already caught him on the road by the first time-check, and you could tell at that point that it wasn’t going to be the Magherafelt man’s day.
As news filtered through that Stefano Bonetti was out at Ballacraine, Dunlop doubled his lead on the run to Ballaugh. Herbertson was riding the wheels of his Paton to stay in touch, but Hodson had dropped from 3rd to 5th. Jamie Coward had taken his place and ominously, Hickman had started to put his Swan Yamaha to work and was moving up the order in 4th.
Dunlop caught and passed Hodson at Ballacrye and was clocked at 162mph on the Sulby straight. It was announced at that point that he was on for a 121.5 mph lap despite the damp patches, and it was obvious that MD was putting his extensive course knowledge and Irish roads experience to good use.
By Ramsey, Michael led Herbertson by 9s, but Hickman pounced on Dom on the run up the Mountain and had nosed into 2nd by the Bungalow, 10s down on the leader. It seemed as though Hickman’s gearing was spot on as the Yamaha pushed through the strong headwind.
Dunlop slipped passed Paul Jordan going up the Mountain mile, and that meant that only Jamie Coward was ahead of him on the road.
Herbertson overtook Davey Todd (who was unusually down in 7th), and Todd latched onto the back of the number 9 machine in the hope that it would drag him back to the top 6.
Of course, Herbertson had no time to lose as Hicky was closing in from behind. The 10s gap that had been between them when they set off was reducing all the time as Peter could now see the Blue and Yellow RK racing S1-R and was reeling it in.
At the end of the opening lap, MD enjoyed a healthy 10s lead. And unlike Sunday, this time the pit stops mostly passed off without incident. After a quick 30s splash and dash, the leaders were back on the road.
However, the unfortunate Paul Jordan did retire at the stop, and his Rev2race teammate Josh Brookes had some difficulty firing up his Yamaha after refuelling. Brookes had been circulating in 13th, but by the time he eventually got going, he lost a couple of positions. As he passed Appledene just a few minutes later, it was noted that the R7 sounded a little off, but the Bringelly man kept going regardless.
By Ramsey on lap 2, Dunlop’s lead had stretched to 14s, but over the course of the lap, Hickman managed to whittle away 2s from it. The lead pair were taking it in turns to post the fastest sector times throughout the lap and were setting a furious pace. As Hickman finally caught Dom the bomb along the way, Chris Boyd in the commentary booth exclaimed, ‘Taxi for Herbertson!’.
Herbertson would have been glad to see the Yellow machine flash by as he was in a fight of his own. Last year’s runner-up, Mike Browne, had been in fourth, but that would soon change as Mike began looking down at his foot and losing time. As Browne slowed, Michael Dunlop caught Jamie Coward on the road. From then on Coward was matching the leader’s pace and suddenly Herbertson was under real pressure.
As the leaders headed out onto the third and final lap, Micky D put the hammer down. He recorded a purple sector and took 5s out of Hickman on the run to Glen Helen. By Ramsey, Dunlop had taken another 5 and enjoyed a gap that was just under 22s as he started the climb towards the Waterworks. From then, MD managed his lead, allowing his rival to claw 2 back on the run home.
But it mattered not, the 35-year old’s 122.4mph final lap was just under the lap record and he ducked under the chequered flag to bank perhaps the most significant victory in TT history to date by 20s. Dunlop was the man. Again!
1. Dunlop, Michael  Paton
2. Hickman, Peter +20.406s Yamaha
3. Herbertson, Dominic +34.8s Paton
Behind the lead pair, Herbertson held valiantly on over the mountain to beat Jamie Coward by 5.4s and Mike Browne managed to nurse his Aprilia home in 5th ahead of Davey Todd in 6th.
Josh Brookes finished 11th; a fair result after his problems after the pit stop.
Michael Dunlop
“The wee girl was struggling, we had a problem during the week. But Andrea and Lorenzo made it work beautiful. The bike was mint, I can’t thank them enough and Stefano the boss. We had a deal that if I win the race, the wee bike’s mine!
“We should have had the 27th on Sunday. I deserved it, but it doesn’t matter. I’m not better than Joey, I never was, and I’ve no intention of being better than Joey. But in everyone’s lifetime, they can aspire to be the best.
“My record’s going to go sometime, but I don’t care… the point is Joey’s stood for 24 years, and it’s an honour.”
1. Dunlop, Michael  Paton
2. Hickman, Peter +20.406s Yamaha
3. Herbertson, Dominic +34.8s Paton
Runner-up Peter Hickman was extremely gracious in defeat and visibly happy for his rival, well aware of the significance of Dunlop’s achievement.
Peter Hickman
“I’m happy to get the Swan R7 up on the podium, the little things going really well… I’m a big lad, everyone knows that but hey…. I’m just really happy to be in a race where Michael’s got that record. It’s just unbelievable. What an achievement. Genuinely so happy for him; to be in that race with him is an extra bonus for me so really, really happy.”
Dominic Herbertson
“I’m just waiting to get pulled out of here! (The winner’s enclosure) It’s surreal! There’s only one man who thought I could do this, and that’s Chrissy Rousse. So the next time I see him, he owes me a pint!
“When I caught Davey Todd, I thought right. My Father always said if you catch someone, get passed as quickly as you can. But I’m thinking that about Davey Todd! Is this really happening???
“I can’t thank Burrows engineering enough and Graham Hannah for the bike. I just followed the world’s fastest TT rider for a lap and a half. Put that in the resume, not bad for a fat lumberjack!”
It’s been one of those days that takes a while to sink in. A day bike fans will read about in years to come and wonder what it was like to be there.
The tension and sense of occasion that hung in the air last Sunday had been powerful. But Sunday had almost been as much about the Dunlop family and commemorating and remembering the fallen as it was about MD’s fantastic victory.
1. Dunlop, Michael  Paton
2. Hickman, Peter +20.406s Yamaha
3. Herbertson, Dominic +34.8 sPaton
Today was about Michael and about celebrating all he has achieved. It’s as though drawing level with Joey had been the crowning achievement; the hurdle that was hardest to overcome. Moving clear of his uncle’s tally was less hampered by emotion and more business-as-usual like.
Of course, Michael had had to deal with the disappointment of having win number 27 cruelly snatched away from him in Saturday’s Superbike TT when the sidepod of his Arai popped out after the second round of pits stops.
But somehow Michael managed to move on from that today and got the job done. For now, and most likely for a very long time, he is the King of the Mountain. At just 35-years of age, who knows what his win tally will be by the time he calls time on his TT a career? Who knows what it will be by the end of this week?
Today’s cancelled Superstock TT is scheduled for 1145 tomorrow morning. Could that be win no. 28? We won’t have long to find out…
SuperTwin TT Race One Results
- Dunlop, Michael 56:15.993Â Paton
- Hickman, Peter 56:36.400 Yamaha
- Herbertson, Dominic 56:50.794 Paton
- Coward, Jamie 56:56.289 Kawasaki
- Browne, Mike 57:20.383 Aprilia
- Todd, Davey 58:00.925 Kawasaki
- Rutter, Michael 58:17.201 Yamaha
- Yeardsley, Joe 58:44.075 Paton
- Venter, Allann 59:18.944 Kawasaki
- Bian, Pierre-Yves 59:24.230 Paton
- Brookes, Josh 59:30.366 Yamaha
- Sweeney, Michael 59:32.119 Aprilia
- Curinga, Francesco 59:53.739 Paton
- Trummer, Julian 59:57.031 Aprilia
- Weeden, Tom 01:00:02.680 Aprilia
- Arnold, Gareth 01:00:09.708 Kawasaki
- Russell, Michael 01:00:15.971 Aprilia
- McCormack, Brian 01:00:25.322 Aprilia
- Dokoupil, Michal 01:00:34.674 Aprilia
- Morris, Martin 01:00:35.457 Aprilia
- Goetschy, Jonathan 01:00:47.055 Aprilia
- Monot, Timothee 01:00:57.620 Aprilia
- Hardisty, Charles Rhys 01:01:09.664 Aprilia
- Williams, Paul Potchy 01:01:55.400 Aprilia
- Parrett, Mark 01:02:10.680 Aprilia
- Bourgeais, Wayne 01:02:26.963 Aprilia
- Colvin, Marc 01:02:39.752 Kawasaki
- Murray, Pete 01:02:55.415 Kawasaki
- Petrie, Jack 01:02:57.651 Aprilia
- Hornby, Andy 01:03:22.660 Paton
- Yamanaka, Masayuki 01:03:23.398 Kawasaki
- Madsen-Mygdal, Dave 01:04:00.004 Kawasaki
- Szczypek, Craig 01:04:20.580 Yamaha
- Hankocyova, Veronika 01:04:44.057 Aprilia
- Costello, Maria 01:04:47.737 Kawasaki
