BMW S 1000 RR clean sweep of the podim at Superstock TT 2017
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Superstock TT 2017 – Podium Press Conference Video
Ian Hutchinson made it three RL360 Quantum Superstock wins in a row, and his second victory of this year’s Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy, when he dominated Wednesday’s race. The win gave him his 16th TT wins in total.
The Tyco BMW rider led from start to finish to take the win from Peter Hickman by 22.4s while there was joy for the Manx contingent with Dan Kneen taking his maiden TT podium in third.
Riders were warned of cross winds at Crosby Hill and damp patches at Ginger Hall, Ramsey Hairpin and Hillberry ahead of the race.
Michael Rutter led through Glen Helen on the opening lap by one second from Hutchinson with Hickman only three tenths of a second further back. There was disappointment though for James Hillier who was an early retirement at Ballacraine.
By Ballaugh, Hutchinson had inched ahead and rounding Ramsey Hairpin for the first time, his advantage over Rutter was 1.3s. Hickman was still third a further 1.5s back as Kneen, Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop rounded out the top six.
As they flashed past the Grandstand for the first time, an opening lap of 131.109mph gave Hutchinson a 4.5s lead over new second placed rider Hickman with Rutter now in third, only 0.17s behind his fellow BMW rider, but ahead of Kneen, Harrison and Dunlop. The first four riders all lapped in excess of 130mph, Kneen setting a new personal best lap, but Bruce Anstey, Conor Cummins and Gary Johnson all retired at the pits.
Through Glen Helen on lap two and the gap was down slightly to 4.1s as Hickman opened up a two-second margin over Rutter. Kneen was well in contention for the final podium spot being just 1.5s behind Rutter. Good rides were also coming from Jamie Coward in ninth and Shaun Anderson in tenth.
At the head of the field, and leading on the roads, Hutchinson was piling on the coals and by Ramsey he’d stretched his lead to a slightly more comfortable 7.8s over Hickman. Kneen was now in third though having turned his deficit to a 3.3s advantage over Rutter. Harrison and Dunlop remained in fifth and sixth.
Coming into the pit stop, Hutchinson had lapped at 130.673mph on his second lap and changed his rear wheel as well as making a slight change to his front suspension setting. His lead over Hickman was still only 6.7s with Kneen now 5.8s further back. Rutter had slipped to five seconds behind Kneen with Harrison and Dunlop still in fifth and sixth. Coward, the leading privateer, remained in ninth, with Horst Saiger in tenth.
Despite the wheel change, Hutchinson’s lead had doubled as he went through Glen Helen on lap three, the gap now 13.6s. Hickman, in turn, was over ten seconds clear of Kneen but Rutter, in fourth, was coming under extreme pressure from Dunlop, the difference between the two just 0.2s. Indeed, he’d nosed ahead by the time they reached Ballaugh Bridge.
Heading into the final lap, Hutchinson’s lead over Hickman was down slightly to 12.4s with Kneen holding onto a comfortable third but Rutter had gone back ahead of Dunlop by 3.5s.
There was to be no final lap drama for Hutchinson though and with the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, 131.639mph, he swept to yet another TT win from Hickman by a commanding 22.4s with Kneen making it an all BMW rostrum in third.
The battle for fourth went all the way but Rutter held on by 1.1s with Harrison overhauling Dunlop for fifth on the final run over the Mountain.
William Dunlop took seventh as David Johnson, Coward and Saiger completed the top ten.
Hutchinson’s victory moved him to 61 points at the top of the Joey Dunlop Championship with Hickman still in second (56) and Michael Dunlop and Kneen up to joint third (35).
Meanwhile, Coward’s ninth place saw him be the first privateer home but Saiger’s tenth place has seen him extend his lead in the TT Privateer’s Championship. He has 58 points with Sam West (43) in second and Coward (38) third.
Peter Hickman
“In the Superstock race, I was a lot faster on the opening lap to Glen Helen than I had been in the previous two races, which made life a bit easier and it’s a lot better seeing P3 on my first pit board as opposed to P7. The bike was cutting out a bit on the first two laps which made things a bit tricky but after the pit stop it cured itself. Conditions were a lot better than I expected and the wind wasn’t as bad as I thought so it was an enjoyable race. Hutchy’s on fire on the Superstock bike so it was always going to be tough to get the better of him but I was delighted to be on the podium once more.”
Michael Rutter
“The morning’s Superstock race was tough and I was mindful of not losing too much time on the first lap so had a real good go the minute the flag dropped. I was leading at Glen Helen but my arms started to pump up and I could hardly hold onto the bars. I think I was a bit too tense at the start and maybe too hyped up so I wasn’t relaxing like I should have been. I was holding on to the bars too tight and although the bike was jumping around a bit on the road, it was more to do with me than the set-up. Third could have been ours today but given the issues with my arms, I’m still over the moon with fourth and it hasn’t been a bad day at all.”
RL360 Quantum Superstock TT 2017 Race Results
- Ian Hutchinson BMW / Tyco BMW 01:09:59.261 129.383
- Peter Hickman BMW / Smiths Racing 01:10:21.684 128.696
- Dan Kneen BMW / DTR powered by Penz 13 01:10:42.708 128.058
- Michael Rutter BMW / Bathams SMT Racing 01:10:52.862 127.752
- Dean Harrison Kawasaki / Silicone Engineering 01:10:54.002 127.718
- Michael Dunlop Suzuki / MD Racing 01:11:03.037 127.447
- William Dunlop Yamaha / Temple Golf Club 01:12:04.373 125.639
- David Johnson BMW / Fleetwood Grab Services BMW 01:12:11.733 125.426
- Jamie Coward BMW / Radcliffe’s Racing 01:12:39.386 124.630
- Horst Saiger Kawasaki / Swiss Moto 01:12:58.409 124.089
- Daniel Hegarty Honda / Top Gun Racing / Uggly & Co 01:12:59.776 124.050
- Martin Jessopp BMW / Riders Motorcycles BMW 01:13:10.344 123.752
- Sam West BMW / PRL / Worthington 01:13:15.442 123.608
- Brian McCormack BMW / Vanfleet Transport 01:13:28.537 123.241
- James Cowton Kawasaki / McAdoo Kawasaki Racing 01:13:36.226 123.026
- Dan Stewart BMW / Wilcock Consulting 01:13:39.832 122.926
- Michael Sweeney BMW / MJR Racing 01:13:40.703 122.902
- Philip Crowe BMW / Handtrans / Fleetwood Grab / Sheff 01:13:51.370 122.606
- Ivan Lintin Kawasaki / Dafabet Devitt RC Express Raci 01:13:52.850 122.565
- Daniel Cooper BMW / CMS by Dan Cooper Motorsport 01:13:58.578 122.407
- Dominic Herbertson BMW / Dynobike 01:14:01.148 122.336
- Steve Mercer Kawasaki / Dafabet Devitt RC Express Raci 01:14:12.277 122.030
- Daley Mathison BMW / Eddie Stobart 01:14:24.078 121.708
- Rob Hodson BMW / Hodson Racing 01:15:02.407 120.671
- Mark Parrett BMW / C & C Ltd IOM 01:15:02.816 120.660
- Michael Russell Kawasaki / RAF Sports 01:15:05.789 120.581
- Kamil Holan BMW / McRace by IVR BMW Motorrad CS 01:15:11.517 120.428
- Stefano Bonetti BMW / Speed Motor 01:15:14.344 120.352
- Craig Neve Kawasaki / Callmac Scaffolding 01:15:22.646 120.131
- Alan Bonner BMW / NW Racing 01:15:44.473 119.554
