Michael Dunlop - Photo Credit: Simon Patterson/Pacemaker
Michael Dunlop wrapped up his first win of the 2012 Isle of Man TT after proving too strong for Cameron Donald in the second Monster Energy Supersport race on Wednesday. The Ulsterman profited from the retirement of his brother William before easing away from Donald, eventually winning by 13 seconds.
William Dunlop stormed into a 2.6 second lead at Glen Helen but his joy was short lived as his Wilson Craig Honda ground to a halt at Kirk Michael. Michael inherited the lead from his sibling and an opening lap of 124.391mph put him five and a half seconds clear of Donald with Bruce Anstey and John McGuinness fighting over third spot.
| 2012 Isle of Man TT | ||
|---|---|---|
| Monster Energy Supersport TT Race Two | ||
| 1 |  Michael Dunlop |
1:13:17.76 |
| 2 |  Cameron Donald |
+13.26 |
| 3 | Ryan Farquhar |
+32.61 |
| 4 |  Bruce Anstey |
+32.62 |
| 5 | John McGuinness |
+43.70 |
| 6 | Ian Hutchinson |
+1:49.21 |
| TT Championship Standings | ||
| 1 | John McGuinness |
74 Pts |
| 2 | Bruce Anstey |
67 Pts |
| 3 | Cameron Donald |
66 Pts |
On the second lap, Ryan Farquhar was rising into contention and narrowed the gap to McGuinness before an impressive third lap launched him above not one, but two Padgett's Hondas. Anstey was ten seconds clear of McGuinness a three-quarter distance but a 119.359mph lap from Farquhar, on par with the leaders, had moved him into third.
The top two were in unchallenged positions and Dunlop cruised to victory ahead of Donald in a comfortable second but the race for the final podium position was far from settled. Less than half a second separated Farquhar and Anstey at the start of the last lap but they were even closer when the chequered flag fell, just one hundredth of a second with Farquhar getting the verdict.
McGuinness was ten seconds back in fifth with Ian Hutchinson taking a fine sixth for Swan Yamaha. James Hillier and Guy Martin were close behind in seventh and eighth while Dan Stewart claimed ninth and with it, the Privateers crown. Tenth placed Dan Cooper now leads the race for the runner-up spot.
