Peter Hickman took his third Isle of Man TT win, in this morning’s four-lap-long Superbike race after a thrilling ‘tug of war’ battle with Dean Harrison.
The RST Superbike race was red flagged on lap three due to an incident at Snugborough. It was later announced that Daley Mathison had lost his life in this incident.
Race Direction opted to declare the result at the end of lap two, giving Hickman the win by 1.782s over Harrison whilst Connor Cummins rounded out the podium.
Harrison was the strongest rider as the race began, pulling out a 1.150 second lead over last year’s Senior TT winner Peter Hickman, who had traffic to contend with from early in the lap – Hickman started tenth on the road.
Quattro Plant Wicked Coatings’s rider James Hillier was in third position at Glen Helen, but Cummins overhauled the rider from Ringwood, putting his Padgetts Honda onto the podium.
Back at the front, it was close between the leading duo, with just 1.556 seconds separating Harrison and Hickman at the Bungalow. Dean’s first lap of 132.47mph was the fastest recorded lap of TT 2019 so far.
On his return to the Isle of Man TT, John McGuinness parked his Norton at the end of lap one with a low oil pressure issue. Derek McGee also joined Mcguiness on the list of retirements at the end of the first lap.
Fan favourite, Michael Dunlop didn’t have the start he was hoping for, slipping down to sixth position at the end of the opening lap.
On lap two, Harrison put the hammer down with a phenomenal performance on the run from Glen Helen to Ballaugh Bridge, opening up the lead to 4.841 seconds.
Hickman responded on the climb from Ramsey Hairpin – the part of the circuit Harrison claims is for the “circuit racers” with the gap cut to just 0.045 seconds at the Bungalow.
Hickman continued his fine form on the way down the mountain, opening the gap up to 1.782 seconds over Harrison as the riders completed the second lap, and entered the pit lane for their one and only pit stop.
During the pit-stops, Ashcourt Racing’s Lee Johnston also retired from the race.
Not long after the leading riders set off down Bray Hill once again, the red flag came out after an incident at Snugborough (between Braddan Bridge and Union Mills) resulting in an early end for the Superbike race.
The result was later declared from the end of lap two, giving Hickman the win after an impressive performance from the Smiths BMW rider, overhauling Harrison’s four-second lead on the mountain mile. Connor Cummins finished second, nine seconds off the win.
The Checkered Flag would like to join the thousands of fans in giving our condolences to the family and friends of Daley Mathison.
