14th Isle of Man TT Win for Peter Hickman
On Sunday, June 2, 2024, Peter Hickman secured his 14th Isle of Man TT win in an action-packed RST Superbike race, matching Mike Hailwood’s tally. Riding for Monster Energy BMW by FHO Racing, Hickman took the lead on the final lap to win by 5.84 seconds from Davey Todd (Milwaukee BMW), with Dean Harrison (Honda Racing) rounding out the top three.
Thrilling Race
The thrilling race saw Michael Dunlop (MasterMac by Hawk/MD Racing Honda) initially lead by 25 seconds at two-thirds race distance, only to experience an issue with the sidepod on his visor, forcing him to stop on Bray Hill and ultimately finish fourth.
Perfect Conditions
The race got underway at 2:40 pm with near-perfect conditions around the Mountain Course. Todd led through Glen Helen for the first time, holding a narrow 0.037-second advantage over Hickman. They were followed closely by Harrison, Dunlop, Hickman’s teammate Josh Brookes, and James Hillier (WTF Racing Honda), with only 3.5 seconds separating the top six. However, Brookes soon retired at Handley’s due to a chain failure.
Lead Changes
Todd maintained his lead at Ballaugh, with a 0.166-second advantage over Harrison, as Dunlop moved into third and Hickman slipped back to fourth. By Ramsey, Todd had extended his lead over Harrison to 1.18 seconds, with Hickman setting the fastest sector time from Ballaugh to Ramsey. James Hind and Shaun Anderson were among the retirees, while an opening lap of 134.417mph gave Todd a 2.2-second advantage over Dunlop (134.118mph), with Harrison (134.048mph) only half a second further back.
Dunlop Takes the Lead
Dunlop cut Todd’s lead to 1.5 seconds by Glen Helen, but Hickman had lost another second to the leaders. Jamie Coward (KTS Racing) was closing in on Hillier, reducing the deficit to 2.2 seconds. Over Ballaugh Bridge, Dunlop took the lead by half a second, and by Ramsey Hairpin for the second time, he had extended his advantage over Todd to 4.4 seconds with the quickest ever sector time between the two timing points.
Hickman Charges
Dunlop’s second lap of 135.543mph saw him move nine seconds clear, but Hickman was charging, taking second place with a lap of 134.701mph, four-tenths of a second ahead of Todd (133.980mph). Hillier and Coward maintained fifth and sixth, ahead of John McGuinness, Conor Cummins, David Johnson, and Mike Browne, who became the fastest ever Aprilia rider around the Mountain Course.
Drama Unfolds
Hickman lost time in the pits, dropping back to third at Glen Helen on lap three, five seconds behind Todd and a further nine behind Dunlop. Hillier added five seconds to his advantage over Coward, while Dunlop moved ahead of Harrison along the Sulby Straight to take the lead on the road. By half race distance, Dunlop had pulled 17.3 seconds clear of Todd, with Hickman four seconds adrift of his fellow BMW rider.
Dunlop extended his lead through every timing point, but drama struck after his second pit stop when his new visor failed to clip in correctly, causing him to stop on Bray Hill and lose valuable time. When he reached Glen Helen for the penultimate time, he had dropped to fourth, with Harrison in the lead. Hickman was only 1.1 seconds behind Harrison, while Todd was ten seconds adrift in third.
Final Lap
Starting the final lap, Hickman had taken the lead, ahead of Harrison by two seconds, with Todd well in touch and only 4.7 seconds back. Hickman tightened his grip on the race throughout the lap, securing a 5.8-second victory over Todd with Harrison completing the podium in third. Dunlop finished fourth, but took consolation in setting a new Superbike lap record of 135.970mph.
Top 10 Finishers
The battle for fifth went down to the wire, with Hillier ultimately prevailing, 2.8 seconds ahead of McGuinness, and Coward only 0.2 seconds behind his fellow Honda rider. The top ten was completed by INCompetition Aprilia’s Browne, Michael Rutter (Bathams Ales BMW), and Brian McCormack (Roadhouse Macau by FHO BMW).
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