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Jun 04, 2023

Isle of Man TT Results, Supersport Race 2

The Isle of Man TT races return this week, with races taking place from 3-10

The Isle of Man TT races return this week, with races taking place from 3-10 June. This page will be updated through the week with Isle of Man TT results.

The 2023 Isle of Man TT Races are now underway, following the conclusion of qualifying week. Beginning with the first Supersport and Sidecar TTs on Satruday 3 June, the races last until Saturday10 June when the Senior TT will round out the event. This page will be updated with Isle of Man TT results throughout race week.

Having won Supersport Race 1 last Saturday in quite convincing fashion, Michael Dunlop was the heavy favourite to take his second middleweight victory of the 2023 Isle of Man TT, and his 25th in total, in Supersport Race 2.

This was potential on which Dunlop delivered, although he faced a significant challenge from Peter Hickman. The pair of them lapped at an average speed of over 130mph for the first time in Supersport history at the TT. The pace of the race, then, was undoubtable, but for Hickman there were small margins which cost him the victory to Dunlop.

Dunlop's 25th TT win, combined with his relative dominance of the Supertwin class which still has to race once more in 2023, means that it seems likely that he will leave the Isle of Man this year at least level on the most TT wins with Joey Dunlop.

On the other hand, for Hickman, second place and a fastest lap less than 0.2mph slower than Dunlop's record-breaking 130.403 means that he and the Triumph Street Triple 765 RS are now legitimate victory contenders in the Supersport class on the Isle of Man. The bad news for Hickman is that he will have to wait another 12 months to be able to attempt to deliver on that potential.

Almost 25 seconds behind Hickman was Dean Harrison in third place. The Russell Racing Yamaha rider held a solid 11-second advantage over Davey Todd in to hold onto third place. Todd, meanwhile, keeps knocking on the door of that second TT podium.

Jamie Coward continued his solid week by rounding out the top five, ahead of James HInd (6th), Paul Jordan (7th), Craig Neve (8th), David Johnson (9th), and Dominic Herbertson (10th), who completed the top 10.

Full Isle of Man TT results from Supersport Race 2 are below.

2023 Isle of Man TT | Supersport | Race 2 Results

Sidecar Race 2 at the 2023 Isle of Man TT was saw Ben and Tom Birchall take their 14th respective TT wins.

Following their milestone 120mph lap in the first Sidecar outing earlier in the week, the Birchall brothers were the clear favourites heading into the second race. A strong pace from Peter Founds/Jevan Walmsley saw them break the 120mph barrier for the first time. The Birchalls therefore had to go above 120mph themselves in order to seal their victory. That they did, and their winning margin stood at nine seconds by the finish.

Ryan Crowe and Callum Crowe completed the podium behind the Birchalls and second-placed Founds/Walmsley, while Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes were fourth.

Completing the top five were Steve Ramsden and Mathew Ramsden, ahead of Gary Bryan and Philip Hyde (6th), Race 1 podium finishers John holden and Maxime Vasseur (7th), Greg Lambert and Andrew Haynes (8th), Wayne Lockey and Matthew Rostron (9th), and John Saunders and James Saunders (10th).

Full Isle of Man TT results from Sidecar Race 2 are below.

2023 Isle of Man TT | Sidecar | Race 2 Results

The delays to the racing early on meant the sun was beginning to set by the time Supertwin Race 1 started. Victory went the way of Michael Dunlop, who took his 24th victory in dominant fashion.

Michael Dunlop asserted his dominance over the race from the beginning. Halfway round the first lap, the #6 was over 10 seconds clear of the battle for second. By the end, his lead was 26.783 seconds, as he took his 24th TT win, distinguishing himself as the second-most-successful rider at the Isle of Man TT.

Before Tuesday, Peter Hickman had not completed a lap on his Yamaha R7 (with a Kalex Moto2 fairing). Fortunately for him, he was able to qualify it in the one-lap solo warm-up on Tuesday morning, but such little time on the bike certainly put him on the back foot going into the race. As a result, his early contention for the podium was both surprising and impressive.

Ultimately, though, Hickman's pace on the R7 could not match that of the likes of Jamie Coward and Mike Browne on the Kawasaki Z-650 and Paton S1-R, respectively, who fought over second place.

That battle was not decided until the very end of the final lap, and went the way of Mike Browne, who got the better of Jamie Coward in the final stages. For Browne, second place represented his first podium at the TT, while Coward took his second TT podium finish.

Just off the podium was Hickman in fourth place, ahead of Josh Brookes (5th), Pierre Yves Bian (6th), Dominic Herbertson (7th), Michael Rutter (8th), Baz Furber (9th) and Rob Hodson (10th).

Full Isle of Man TT results from Supertwin Race 1 are below.

2023 Isle of Man TT | Supertwin | Race 1 Results

Low clouds proved preventative to the starting of Superstock Race 1 at the 2023 Isle of Man TT, but when it did get underway - three hours later than planned - it was Peter Hickman who took the honours, and with them his 10th TT victory.

Although it was Michael Dunlop who led early on in Superstock Race 1, Peter Hickman grabbed the advantage by the end of the opening lap by almost three seconds.

From there, the FHO Racing BMW rider extended his advantage pretty much throughout the race, and won by over 20 seconds in the end. It was Hickman's 10th TT victory, and his first of the 2023 event.

In second place was Michael Dunlop, ahead of Dean Harrison, meaning the same three riders as in the first Supersport and Superbike outings over the weekend were on the podium in this first race for the Superstock class.

Davey Todd took fourth place, ahead of James HIllier and Jamie Coward; while Conor Cummins was seventh, ahead of David Johnson, Mike Browne, and Shaun Anderson who completed the top 10.

Full Isle of Man TT results from Superstock Race 1 are below.

The second race day at the 2023 Isle of Man TT may have only seen one race, but the Superbike Race provided quite the show on its own. Michael Dunlop took an historic win.

Of the three favourites coming into the Superbike Race - Michael Dunlop, Peter Hickman, and Dean Harrison - it was Dunlop who got off to the best start. On lap onne, he set the pace with a 134.519mph average.

While Dunlop started strong, Hickman did not, and was as low as fourth at points on lap one, behind Davey Todd, who would retire from the race in the pits at the end of lap three. Hickman climbed up to third by the end of the opening lap, but was unable to match the speed of Dunlop or Harrison even on lap two.

Dunlop extended the pace further on lap two, on his way into the pits, with a 135.016mph average speed. For Hickman, though, the live TV images seemed to show him manually chopping the throttle on upshifts, indicating his quickshifter may have been broken. Hickman confirmed this to the world feed broadcast post-race in parc ferme, and revealed he had brake issues throughout the race.

Those first two laps more or less set the tone for the next four. Dunlop solidified his position in first place, ahead of Harrison and Hickman.

However, on the final lap, Hickman made a charge, and almost set a outright lap record, but just missed out at 135.445mph, on his way to second place.

In fourth place was one of the only Yamahas in the race, ridden by James Hillier, ahead of the Honda-mounted Jamie Coward and John McGuinness - who now stands for the first time with company on 23 wins - while Josh Brookes, Dominic Herbertson, Michael Rutter, and Shaun Anderson completed the top 10.

Full Isle of Man TT Superbike Race results are below.

2023 Isle of Man TT | Superbike | Race Results

Ben Birchall and Tom Birchall took their respective 13th TT wins in Sidecar Race 1 at the 2023 Isle of Man TT, and broke the 120mph barrier in a Sidecar TT-first.

The Birchall brothers were the clear favourites coming into the first Sidecar race of the 2023 TT, and they delivered on that, taking their 13th TT win. Coming into the 2023 event, one target was the first 120mph lap for a sidecar at the Isle of Man, and the Birchalls delivered it on lap two with a 120.357mph.

Peter Founds and Jevan Walmsley took a strong second place. They were not too far from the Birchalls on the first lap, but the record-breaking second tour from the #1 outfit forced Founds and Walmsley to settle for second.

By the time Founds and Walmsley were settling for second, the attention requirement behind them also reduced, as Ryan Crowe and Callum Crowe retired before the end of lap two. That promoted John Holden and Maxime Vasseur up to third place to complete the podium, albeit a ways adrift of the two leading outfits.

Steve and Matthew Ramsden finished fourth, ahead of Gary Bryan and Philip Hyde, while Daryl Gibson and Tom Christie rounded out the top six. In seventh place was Wayne Lockey and Matthew Rostron; while the outfits of John Saunders and James Saunders, and Alan Founds and Colin Smyth (impressive considering Founds’ late switch to Smyth as passenger after the failed drugs test of Jake Lowther) rounded out the top 10.

Full Isle of Man TT results from Sidecar Race 1 are below.

Opening race week, Supersport TT Race 1 saw domination from Michael Dunlop, who took his 22nd TT victory, and a close battle for second place.

David Johnson opened the road for the first Supersport race of the week in the Isle of Man, but the real challengers were expected to come from further back, and particularly from the likes of Michael Dunlop, Dean Harrison, and Peter Hickman.

Dunlop dominated more or less from the start. Although it was Harrison that led to Glen Helen on the opening lap, Dunlop had the lead from the first time through Ballaugh, had a faultless pit stop, and missed only the lap record on his way to his 22nd TT victory.

Dunlop's lead was over Dean Harrison for the majority of the race, but a late rally from Peter Hickman saw him overcome Harrison in the final stages of the last lap to take second place, while Harrison had to settle for third.

The battle for fourth looked, for most of the race, as though it would go the way of Jamie Coward and, despite a late charge from Davey Todd, it was Coward who hung on, while Todd took fifth place.

James Hillier took sixth place, ahead of Paul Jordan, David Johnson, Rob Hodson, and James Hind who completed the top 10.

Full Isle of Man TT results from Supersport Race 1 are below.

2023 Isle of Man TT | Supersport | Race 1 Results

Qualifying week at the 2023 Isle of Man TT has concluded, with three riders - topped by Michael Dunlop - dominating the solo classes, and the Birchall brothers on top in the Sidecar class.

If Peter Hickman arrived on the Isle of Man for the 2023 TT as the man to beat, Michael Dunlop arrived on the island as a man willing to take up that challenge. Throughout the past five days, it has been Dunlop and Hickman who have dominated the solo classes at the Isle of Man TT, together with Dean Harrison, with Dunlop taking the top spot in the Superbike, Supersport, and Supertwin classes, while Hickman is fastest in Superstock.

The culmination of this week of dominance came, of course, in final qualifying on Friday, when Dunlop unofficially broke the lap record for the Snaefell Course with a 135.591mph lap, becoming the only rider in the 135mph bracket.

For his part, Hickman was by no means off the pace with a 134.910 mph lap, while Harrison went 134.216 on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR superbike.

The same three are atop the standings in the Superstock and Supersport classes, too. In the ‘Stock class, Hickman takes the top spot on the time sheets heading into race week, with Dunlop second and Harrison again third; while Dunlop leads Harrison in second and Hickman in third on the middleweight machines.

In the Supertwin class, the domination belongs solely to Dunlop, whose best lap in qualifying was over 20 seconds faster (and over 2mph faster) than his nearest challenger, who in this case was Jamie Coward, while Mike Browne rounded out the top three.

While Harrison is not competing the Supertwin class altogether this year, Hickman continues with a Paton S1-R prepared by himself and his own team, but he has reported issues with the bike on both Wednesday and Friday, meaning he has not completed a lap on the lightweight bike at the end of practice week.

Other standout riders in the solo classes have included Davey Todd, who has apparently found himself bored with the simple action of riding the TT course and therefore had to resort to stoppies and rear slides into corners like Parliament Square to keep himself entertained.

Elsewhere, John McGuinness lapped faster than 130mph with a superbike for the first time since 2016 (and on multiple occasions this week), and Jamie Coward impressed, not only with his top-three speed on the lightweight bike, but also his competitiveness on the larger machines.

The sidecars have seen the only real controversy of the week, as Jake Lowther failed a random drugs test early in the week and was excluded from the event as a result. His driver, Alan Founds, had hoped to be back in action later in the week, but his fastest lap is still from Monday when he had Lowther in the passenger seat.

Further up the order it is no surprise to find Ben and Tom Birchall atop the sidecar timesheets. The dominant force in the Sidecar class for the past five or six editions, at least, the Birchall brothers ended qualifying over 1mph faster than their nearest rivals, Peter Founds and Jevan Walmsley, as they close in on a landmark 120mph lap, which could well come in race week.

Ryan and Callum Crowe were two of the standout competitors of the 2022 TT races, and, despite a crash on Monday night, are proving to have strong pace again this year.

As for sidecar legend Dave Molyneux, the issues he has faced with the KTM over recent years at the TT appear to be continuing in 2023, both in terms of reliability and performance.

Full Isle of Man TT results from qualifying week for all classes are below.

2023 Isle of Man TT | Superbike | Combined Qualifying Results

2023 Isle of Man TT | Superstock | Combined Qualifying Results

2023 Isle of Man TT | Supersport | Combined Qualifying Results

2023 Isle of Man TT | Supertwin | Combined Qualifying Results

2023 Isle of Man TT | Sidecar | Combined Qualifying Results

Image credit: Isle of Man TT Press.