Conor Cummins edged out Michael Dunlop for the final position on the podium of the 2019 Senior TT at the Isle of Man, while still working towards that illusive sub-17min lap time over the famous mountain course. Here’s what he had to say following the Senior TT.
Conor Cummins
Conor, another big bike podium, a double big bike podium in 2018, and again in 2019.
Conor Cummins: “Yea I’m really happy with it, I just want to say a big thanks to Padgetts Racing team, they put great bikes underneath me. I got off to a steady start and just found a decent rhythm and Dean came past me at Sulby or somewhere, and I tagged onto the back of him and found a bit of a rhythm there.
“The bike was faultless, bit of an issue mid-race where I tried to manage it a little bit, but it wasn’t going to effect the result at all. It was just a bit of a handling problem we had, but we’ll get it sorted for next year. Looking forward to TT 2020.”
Mid-race you got into a big battle for position with Michael Dunlop.
Conor Cummins: “I was watching my boards a lot of the time and I managed to edge three-seconds on him, and just managed to build a bit of a cushion and I think I ended up with 20 plus seconds at the end. It’s a mega competitive field at the TT this year, so strong and to get on the podium I’m really happy, and again a big thanks to the Padgetts Racing team for all their efforts.”
Conor Cummins
That sub-17 minute lap still a target for you?
Conor Cummins: “Yea, yea it is, maybe with a bit more practice I’d probably go sub 17min I think. The fact is I haven’t done it, so we’ll just work on next year and come back stronger.”
2019 Senior TT Results Dean Harrison / Kawasaki Peter Hickman / BMW +53.062 Conor Cummins / Honda +58.879
After a disastrous start to TT race week with non-stop weather delays, Thursday had seen the clouds break long enough to run a massive five TT races, completely catching up on the race program with the most races ever run on a single day in TT history.
The following day weather was forecast to close in and turn downright ugly with expected falls of up to 50mm from Friday afternoon. Thus organisers moved the six-lap Senior TT ahead to an earlier 1000 start time, which was then pushed back a little to 1015 as marshalls helped clean small sections of the course. The sky though was the most welcoming seen across the whole TT fortnight which bode well for the coming Senior TT.
Peter Hickman and Dean Harrison proved a step above the competition last year and the pair carried that form into TT 2019. Hickman though did seem to have an edge on Harrison in the lead-up to the Senior and would enter the race as favourite.
David Johnson proved he is ready to pounce should either of that pair make any mistakes today. The South Australian scored his maiden podium yesterday in the Superstock TT, despite a demonstrably clear horsepower deficit. Today, with the extra 25 horsepower of the Superbike spec’ Fireblade beneath him, that gap should be less evident.
Michael Dunlop of course is always in with a strong chance of a win should he find a little more speed today. He added to his TT win tally late on Thursday evening with victory in the Lightweight TT. The likes of James Hillier and Conor Cummins can also never be discounted. Ian Hutchinson has failed to hit his straps this week but could also mount a last-minute surprise return to form if the planets aligned for the Bingley Bullett
Michael Rutter also showed his speed yesterday with the TT Zero win and new lap record on the Mugen electric bike, I think it is fair to say there is no more experienced road racer on any motorcycle grid in any series, anywhere in the world with as much experience as Rutter. For the Senior TT he is on the bespoke RC213V-S Honda and while many might suggest he is a long shot, I am one that thinks that shot might actually not be all that long…
The other elder statesman of the roads is of course John McGuinness. His return from injury is being made on the V4 Norton, a machine that has proved good enough to lap over 130mph with Josh Brookes at the controls in 2017. On the grid McGuinness remarked he hadn’t quite found his rhythm on the Norton yet, and that they had been chasing a small electrical problem.
Conor Cummins was to head down Glencrutchery Road first with the other riders waved off at ten-second intervals. After Cummins it was Harrison, McGuiness, Hutchinson and Hillier the first five away. They were followed by Dunlop, Gary Johnson, Michael Rutter, David Johnson and Peter Hickman.
They are away!
Dean Harrison was quick out of the blocks and had pulled more than four-seconds back on Conor Cummins by the first split at Glen Helen. Michael Dunlop was also away well along with Michael Rutter while David Johnson was sixth.
Dean Harrison
At Ballaugh Bridge for the first time there was nothing between Harrison and Hickman for the lead. There was eight-seconds back to Conor Cummins in third place, the Padgetts Honda being quickly caught by Michael Dunlop though while David Johnson had moved past Rutter to take fifth place.
At Bungalow for the first time Peter Hickman had a one-second lead over Harrison while Conor Cummins was managing to stave off the advances of Michael Dunlop to hold on to third place. David Johnson still fifth, seven-seconds behind Dunlop. John McGuinness stopped at Bungalow with some sort of problem.
134.28mph lap from standing start!
At the end of lap one Dean Harrison registered a 133.99mph lap from a standing start as we waited with baited breath for race leader Peter Hickman to cross the stripe… There he goes, 134.28mph lap from a standing start for Hicky. Cummins still third ahead of Dunlop with David Johnson in fifth after a 130.98mph opening lap.
Conor Cummins
At Ballaugh Bridge for the second time it was still Hickman in front but now with a gap out to two-seconds. Conor Cummins was looking to have the measure of Michael Dunlop, his advantage out to four-seconds now. David Johnson a further 12-seconds back in fifth.
Peter Hickman registered 192mph through the Sulby speed trap and by Ramsey had extended his lead over Harrison out to 3.4-seconds. Cummins a further 20-seconds back, with 5-seconds on Dunlop and 20-second on Johnson.
Hickman extended his lead out to 6.5-seconds by Bungalow, which was then 6.94-seconds by Cronk ny Mona.
In the pits!
Dean Harrison the first rider into the pits while Peter Hickman arrived eight-seconds later after clocking a 134.281mph despite having to slow for the pit entry. Michael Dunlop and Peter Hickman exited pit-lane together on the track but of course there was more than a 30-second gap separating them on the timing monitors, Dunlop appearing to give way to Hickman as they got back up to speed heading down Glencrutchery Road.
Honda Racing men retire
Ian Hutchinson retired after coming into the pits but David Johnson limped to a halt out on the circuit after his Fireblade had started coughing and spluttering earlier in the lap. A terrible blow after the promise Johnson showed yesterday as he raced to a podium finish in the Superstock TT.
At Glen Helen on lap three Hickman’s lead out to ten-seconds over Harrison as Conor Cummins extends his advantage over Michael Dunlop. The demise of David Johnson promoted Michael Rutter up into the top five, but 38-seconds behind fourth placed Dunlop.
On the run to Ballaugh Bridge Harrison clawed back half-a-second on Hickman but Hicky then made that up and more by Ramsey Hairpin to extend his lead back out to 10.494-seconds. Conor Cummins 35-seconds behind the race leader in third place but with 13-seconds over Dunlop.
Hickman pulled another two-seconds over Harrison by Bungalow to extend his lead to 12.198-seconds and by the start-finish line at The Grandstand that lead was 13.486-seconds. Conor Cummins 40.7-seconds behind the leader but with 16-seconds over Dunlop as they commenced lap four.
At Ramsey Hairpin on lap four the gap between Hickman and Harrison was 12.532-seconds after the Kawasaki man put in the faster sector time from Ballaugh Bridge to Ramsey. Conor Cummins 49-seconds behind the race leader but with a now comfortable 18-seconds over Michael Dunlop.
Hickman owns the next sector though, from Ramsey to Bungalow Hicky three-seconds quicker than Harrison to extend his lead out to 15.260-seconds. Hickman has displayed a huge advantage through that sector over Harrison all week and no doubt the Kawasaki man will study the post-race footage on how to narrow that gap at TT 2020.
Peter Hickman
Second Pit Stop
New rear tyres going in the bikes along with enough fuel to last the final two laps of the TT Mountain Course. When they came into the pits the gap on the timing monitors was 17.683-seconds but Hickman’s team helped him extend that by another 1.6-seconds in the pits.
Through the first split on lap five Hickman’s lead had been dramatically shortened by more than ten-seconds! Unsure if some sort of post pit-stop problem or he got held up somewhere on the circuit or made a mistake, but all of a sudden his lead has been more than halved…
Problems for Hickman…
At Ballaugh Bridge the gap now down to 1.1-seconds… Nothing in it… Hickman had some problems with the BMW Superbike spitting water at high rpm, and those gremlins had surfaced again and looked to possibly rob him the chance of a Senior TT win here today… Because of those problems encountered earlier this week, which had led the team to change engines, radiators, hoses, caps etc. but still yet to cure the problem, Hickman had favoured using the Superstock engine in today’s Senior TT. Scrutineers however had impounded that engine for post-race technical inspections, that choice was taken away from the Smiths Racing BMW squad. Even requests for the engine to be sealed and then inspected after the Senior were rejected by TT officials, thus Smiths BMW were forced to take the gamble on the Superbike…
Harrison into the lead..
Dean Harrison moved into the race lead at Ramsey Hairpin, the advantage to the Kawasaki man a significant 7.877-seconds and seemingly building at every split. Can Hickman keep it going to the flag or will his problems allow Conor Cummins and Michael Dunlop onto the podium…
By Cronk ny Mona Harrison’s lead was 18.157-seconds and by the start-finish line in front of The Grandstand that was 18.386-seconds. Hickman’s pits had been ready to receive him but Hickman instead blasted past them. Conor Cummins a further 33.208-seconds behind in third place but with 25-seconds over Michael Dunlop.
Last lap!
Peter Hickman was down to using only half-throttle and only 11,000 rpm as he tried to reduce the amount of coolant the BMW ejected. That had allowed Dean Harrison to extend his lead out to 31.471-seconds. Hickman was nine-seconds slower than third-placed Conor Cummins on the Grandstand to Glen Helen sector and the gap between the pair was down to 24.355-seconds.
Harrison’s lead out to 40.454-seconds at Ballaugh Bridge and the BMW six-seconds slower than third placed Conor Cummins through that last split, the gap between second and third place men now down to 17.740-seconds.
At Ramsey the gap between Hickman and Cummins was down to 12.842-seconds, at Bungalow it was then down to 8.923-seconds. Harrison’s lead was more than 50-seconds.
2019 Senior TT Results 1. Dean Harrison 2. Peter Hickman +53.062 3. Conor Cummins +58.879
Dean Harrison the clear winner ahead of a frustrated but ultimately still great scoring Peter Hickman after he managed to nurse that Smiths BMW home over the final two laps in order to get that second place ahead of Conor Cummins by a slender 5.817-seconds.
Dean Harrison – Senior TT Winner – 2019
Michael Dunlop had a comfortable fourth place and it was Hillier who got the verdict over Todd for fifth, the latter setting a personal best lap of 131.49mph on the sixth lap in just his second year at the TT.
Michael Rutter, Jamie Coward – who recorded his first 130mph lap – Brian McCormack and Dominic Herbertson completed the top ten.
The race results enabled Hickman to regain the Joey Dunlop TT Championship he last won in 2017 with 111 points, 13 ahead of Harrison (98) with Hillier in third (69). Hickman will receive a Bremont watch from the TT’s Official Timing Partner.
After twice previously finishing second, Coward won the TT Privateer’s Championship with the maximum 125 points after being the top privateer in all five of the races. McCormack (61) finished second with Paul Jordan (58) in third.
Kawasaki won the Manufacturer’s Award with Smiths Racing taking the Team Prize for the third year in a row.
2019 Senior TT Results
Dean Harrison
Peter Hickman +53.062
Conor Cummins +58.879
Michael Dunlop +1m26.709
James Hillier +2m30.352
Davey Todd +2m32.920
Michael Rutter +3m03.571
Jamie Coward +3m13.561
Brian McCormack +3m49.971
Dominic Herbertson +4m09.262
Gary Johnson +4m41.665
Shaun Anderson +5m58.740
Derek Sheils +6m07.744
Mike Booth +6m55.370
Michael Sweeney +7m14.207
Horst Saiger +7m15.358
Mark Parrett +7m55.596
Joe Akroyd +8m00.702
David Jackson +8m03.310
Frank Gallagher +8m05.124
Dean Harrison – Senior TT Winner – 2019The front of the Silicone Engineering Kawasaki after almost two hours of racing at the Senior TT
Peter Hickman joined a select group of riders to win two races in a day at the Isle of Man TT Races, fuelled by Monster Energy, when he dominated the RL360 Superstock race to win by 26.045s from Dean Harrison (Silicone Engineering Kawasaki).
South Australia’s David Johnson also joined a select band of riders in securing his first ever TT podium with a hard fought third place in today’s Superstock TT.
Hickman rider followed up his Monster Energy Supersport success from earlier in the day to take his fifth TT victory – and his third of the week – with David Johnson (Honda Racing) achieving his maiden TT podium in third as he got the better of Michael Dunlop on the final lap by just 0.208s.
Peter Hickman
A superb first sector saw Hickman lead through Glen Helen on the opening lap, – 1.68s ahead of Harrison with James Hillier a similar distance back in third. Dunlop slotted into fourth ahead of Michael Rutter and Davey Todd who was having a storming ride in sixth.
Hickman increased his lead by a further seven-tenths of a second at Ballaugh, while Dunlop moved ahead of Hillier for third. At Ramsey Hairpin the Burton upon Trent rider’s advantage had grown to 3.978s. Harrison was now almost five seconds clear of Dunlop with Hillier, Conor Cummins and Johnson occupying fourth to sixth positions.
Dean Harrison
A brilliant run over the Mountain and an opening lap of 132.02mph gave Hickman a 9.026s lead over Harrison as the riders all made their mandatory pit stop. Dunlop was just over four seconds behind Harrison but 6.7s ahead of Hillier although the Kawasaki rider picked up a 30s pit lane speeding penalty which dropped him down the order. Johnson was now in fifth having overhauled Cummins.
Hickman’s lead at Glen Helen had come down to 5.8s as Harrison made his bid to close the gap and it looked like it was now a two-horse race with Dunlop over eleven seconds in arrears in third. Johnson had moved up to fourth, courtesy of a superb pit stop, from Cummins and Rutter as Hillier went through in ninth.
David Johnson
As the lap unfolded, Hickman began to reassert his authority back on the race once more and the lead was up to nine-seconds at Ramsey with Dunlop having lost a further three-seconds on the west part of the circuit. Indeed, he was now coming under pressure from a charging Johnson on the Honda Racing machine.
Hickman’s second lap speed of 128.13mph gave him a healthy lead of 16.576s over Harrison as he headed into his third and final lap of the 37.73-mile course. Dunlop was now only 3.2s ahead of Johnson as Cummins and Rutter slotted into fifth and sixth. Hillier had fought his way back up to seventh.
Dean Harrison
At Glen Helen third time around, Hickman had extended his advantage over Harrison to 18.078s but Johnson had now moved up to third at the expense of Dunlop, although the gap between the pairing was only 0.784s.. Cummins and Rutter remained in fifth and sixth respectively but the battle for third was getting closer with Dunlop having closed to within 0.114s at Ballaugh.
Throughout the final lap, Hickman continually pressed home his advantage and with a final lap speed of 131.38mph, he took the chequered flag by 26.045s to move on to a career total of five TT wins.
Peter Hickman
Harrison took his second runner-up spot of the day, and third of the week, with Johnson getting the better of Dunlop for third by 0.208s as he overhauled the Ulsterman in the final sector.
Johnson’s hand-picked pit crew earned their stripes, they had got him out three-seconds quicker than Dunlop, in some part due to a perfect fuel strategy that allowed them less time in pit-lane, and Davo’s Fireblade spluttered after he crossed the line, so it was spot on to the final drop and that team work helped make the difference in helping Davo to get the Fireblade onto the podium for Honda Racing.
David Johnson
Cummins and Rutter took fifth and sixth with Hillier, Todd, Jamie Coward and Gary Johnson completing the top ten.
Dean Osborne was reported to be unhurt after coming off at Appledene.
Peter Hickman claimed his fourth TT Race victory at the Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy when he won Thursday’s two-lap Monster Energy Supersport TT Race, his first win in the 600cc category.
The Trooper Beer by Smiths Racing Triumph rider was locked in battle throughout the two laps with Dean Harrison (Silicone Engineering Kawasaki) but with his now customary charge over the Mountain on lap two, the Burton upon Trent rider edged to a win by 3.3s. James Hillier took third on the Quattro Plant Wicked Coatings Kawasaki.
Having originally been scheduled for 10.45am on Wednesday, the race, cut from four laps to two, eventually got underway at 12.55pm on Thursday and with dry conditions all round the Mountain Course, except for some sight damp patches at Laurel Bank, the Black Dub, Glen Helen, Kerromoar and Ramsey Hairpin, it was Hickman who led at Glen Helen on the opening lap.
Dean Harrison
However, his lead over Hillier was just 0.06s and it was close across the leaderboard with Harrison, Gary Johnson, Lee Johnston and Jamie Coward filling third to sixth place positions as just two and a half seconds covered the top six. Ian Hutchinson was in trouble though with the Honda Racing rider retiring at Quarter Bridge.
It was all change at Ballaugh as Harrison took over the lead from Hillier and Hickman with the trio separated by only half a second but by Ramsey Hickman moved back to the top of the leaderboard. The gap was only 0.038s as Hillier dropped back to third, one and a half seconds adrift of Harrison.
The trio remained close as they went up and over the Mountain for the first time but an opening lap of 127.21mph gave Hickman a 2.3s lead over Harrison with Hillier just under a second further back in third. Conor Cummins and Coward had moved up to fourth and fifth as Johnston slipped back to sixth.
With no pit stop on this occasion, the riders went on to their second and final lap but Harrison’s strength on the opening sector could again be seen as he turned his deficit into a half second advantage as the riders swept round the left hander at Glen Helen. It looked to be a two-horse race as well as Hillier was now three seconds in arrears of Hickman.
By Ballaugh, Hickman had edged ahead again but it remained extremely tight with Harrison only three tenths of a second behind. Hillier dropped another second but stayed in third over six seconds clear of Cummins as Coward and Johnson completed the top six.
James Hillier
As they arrived at Ramsey for the final time, the gap, amazingly, was almost exactly the same and, just like last year’s Senior race, it was all going to come down to the final run over the Mountain.
Through the Bungalow, Hickman had added another six tenths of a second to his lead and he’d increased it to 1.9s at Cronk ny Mona. Indeed, with the fastest lap of the race, 128.14mph, Hickman clinched victory by 3.302s for his first Supersport TT win.
Peter Hickman
Harrison had to settle for second with Hillier taking another 600cc podium in third as Cummins finished in a safe fourth. Coward took his best ever TT result in fifth ahead of Dunlop with Davey Todd also having his best ever TT finish in seventh. Gary Johnson, Lee Johnston and David Johnson rounded out the top ten.
Hickman’s victory saw him extend his lead at the top of the Joey Dunlop TT Championship to 13 points and he now leads the way on 66 from Harrison (53) and Hillier (49).
Coward took his third successive maximum haul of points in the race for the TT Privateers Championship and he’s moved onto 75 points ahead of Derek Sheils (47) and Paul Jordan (45) who took 12th and 11th respectively in today’s race.
Matt Stevenson was reported to be off at Greeba Castle and was treated at the scene for a wrist injury.
Ben and Tom Birchall matched the ten wins of TT legend Rob Fisher when they took their second victory of the week in the Locate.im Sidecar TT Race at the 2019 Isle of Man TT Races, fuelled by Monster Energy.
In a weather affected fortnight the race was moved forward from Friday’s scheduled start and reduced to 2 laps to complete a packed programme of races.
The Nottinghamshire brothers overcame the early challenge of John Holden/Lee Cain to win by more than twenty seconds with Pete Founds/Jevan Walmsley sealing the final podium position in third.
The Birchalls led Holden/Cain by a second at Glen Helen on the first of the two laps with Alan Founds/Jake Lowther, Founds/Walmsley and Lewis Blackstock/Patrick Rosney slotting into third to fifth. Dave Molyneux/Harry Payne and Tim Reeves/Mark Wilkes both got further than what they had done in the opening race but were back in sixth and seventh respectively.
Holden/Cain
Founds/Lowther only made it up the hill and were reported to have stopped at Sarah’s Cottage where they were making adjustments while Monday’s sensational newcomers Ryan and Callum Crowe failed to make the start with machine issues but at the head of the field, it was extremely tight as Holden/Cain reduced the deficit by a tenth of a second as they took the jump at Ballaugh Bridge.
Through Ramsey Hairpin first time around, the Birchalls injected a sense of urgency and their lead had increased to 2.757s but with Alan Founds reported as stopped, brother Pete moved up to third albeit over 14 seconds adrift of Holden/Cain. Blackstock/Rosney were now fourth with Molyneux/Payne in fifth and Reeves/Wilkes up to sixth.
An opening lap of 118.38mph saw the Birchalls extend their lead over Holden/Cain to 10.602s while Founds/Lowther remained in third albeit now thirty seconds behind the leaders. Blackstock/Rosney, Molyneux/Payne and Reeves/Wilkes continued to occupy fourth to sixth.
The lead had stretched to 13 seconds at Glen Helen second time around and Holden/Cain were also extending their advantage over Founds/Walmsley, the gap now up to 24.636s. Blackstock/Rosney continued to hold on to fourth but they pulled into the car park by the commentary point to make adjustments before rejoining the race.
Founds/Walmsley
Former race winners Molyneux and Reeves were now split by only 0.2s as they circulated in fifth and sixth but by Ramsey for the second and final time, the Birchalls were almost 17s clear of Holden/Cain and with a lap speed of 118.609mph, they took their second win of the week, and tenth in total, by a commanding 20.511s.
Holden/Cain had to settle for second once more, the Blackburn driver’s 12th podium in a row, with Founds/Walmsley finishing in third and taking their first podium since 2016. Reeves/Wilkes came through to take fourth ahead of Gary Bryan/Phil Hyde with Estelle Leblond/Franck Claeys finishing in a fine sixth place after another 110mph+ lap for the French female driver.
The top ten was completed Blackstock/Rosney, Allan Schofield/Steve Thomas, John Lowther/Scott Hardie and a slowing Molyneux/Payne.
Passenger Julie Grosset-Bourbange was reported to have come out of the sidecar at Rhencullen and sustained an arm injury.
Michael Dunlop took a thrilling Bennetts Lightweight TT Race victory at the 2019 Isle of Man TT Races, fuelled by Monster Energy, on Thursday evening when he beat Jamie Coward by just 1.299s at the end of the shortened two-lap race.
Dunlop (SC Corse Paton) and Coward (KTS Racing Kawasaki) swapped the race lead on a number of occasions and were never more than a few seconds apart but the Ulsterman just held off Coward for his 19th TT victory. Lee Johnston finished in third place on the KMR Kawasaki.
Dunlop led Coward at Glen Helen on the first lap by 2.68s with Gary Johnson only 0.676s adrift in third. Bonetti slotted into fourth ahead of Michael Rutter and Johnston with Peter Hickman the best of the Nortons in eighth.
Lee Johnston
Coward pulled two tenths of a second back on the run to Ballaugh but by Ramsey Dunlop had extended his lead to four seconds and although Johnson was still in third, he was now 5.8s behind Coward. He had his hands full with KMR Kawasaki team-mate Johnston who had closed to within 0.158s but John McGuinness was a retirement at Ballaugh.
Over the Mountain, Coward took 3.7s out of Dunlop’s lead to trail by just three tenths of a second at the Bungalow and he took the lead for the first time at Cronk ny Mona. His opening lap of 120.65mph gave him a slender 0.748s advantage over Dunlop but Johnston had made great progress to move up to third ahead of Stefano Bonetti, Johnson and Paul Jordan.
Davey Todd retired his Norton at the pits but at the head of the field, Dunlop cut Coward’s lead by three tenths of a second at Glen Helen second time around with just under half a second separating the duo. Johnston was only two seconds ahead of Bonetti as Jordan moved ahead of Johnson into fifth.
At Ballaugh, the gap had come down further still to 0.163s but at Ramsey Dunlop was back in front by 1.4s with just the final run over the Mountain to come. Coward wasn’t giving up without a fight though and he had the better run to the Bungalow as he brought the deficit down to 1.158s.
Jamie Coward
The Yorkshire rider took another four tenths out of Dunlop as they passed through Cronk ny Mona and as Dunlop flashed across the line at 122.746mph, three-hundredths of a second outside his own lap record, he had an agonising wait to see if he’d won.
Coward lapped at 122.52mph but fell 1.299s short although second place saw him claim his first ever TT podium.
Lee Johnston took third for former winner Ryan Farquhar with Paul Jordan taking an excellent fourth place finish in his third TT ahead of Michael Rutter and Stefano Bonetti.
Gary Johnson faded to seventh as Peter Hickman gave Norton something to cheer about in eighth with Dominic Herbertson and Horst Saiger completing the top ten.
Michael Rutter was in record breaking form in today’s SES TT Zero race for electric bikes at the 2019 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy.
Rutter clinched the race win with a new record lap from Bathams Mugen teammate John McGuinness. Another veteran competitor, Team Mirai’s Ian Lougher, took the final podium place.
Celebrating its 10th year this year, the TT Zero Race lap record has gone from an average speed of 96.82mph set by Mark Miller in the inaugural TT Zero Race, to Rutter’s new time of 121.909mph, just under a second inside his old record set last year.
The race has been dominated in recent years by the Mugen team, with John McGuinness, Michael Rutter and Bruce Anstey all winning races for the Japanese-based factory team and today’s win for Rutter’s – his fifth in the class -also extended his record of winning every TT Zero Race that he has participated in. He was also the first rider to break the prestigious 100mph mark for an electric bike in 2012.
Rutter was never headed in the race and his lead was over 4 seconds at the opening timing point at Glen Helen from Bathams Mugen teammate John McGuinness. Davey Todd, who replaced his Penz13.com teammate Daley Matheson – who was so tragically killed in the Superbike race earlier in the week – on the Nottingham University bike, was in third but was already almost eleven seconds off the leaders pace. Wales’s Ian Lougher and South African Allann Venter (Brunel University) completed the top five.
McGuinness closed the gap to just over three seconds at Ballaugh and set the fastest time through the Sulby speed trap – a remarkable 176.14 to Rutter’s 173.86 with Todd also flying through Sulby straight with 160.16 – all three times testament to the progress that these electric bikes have made.
Ian Lougher
However, Rutter again improved his lead back up to almost five seconds by the third check point at Ramsey Hairpin. By the Bungalow the main question on everyone’s lips was whether Rutter could break his own lap record and he answered the question at the Grandstand with a new lap record.
McGuinness comfortably held on to second place at the chequered flag but with Davey Todd stopping after Ramsey, Ian Lougher moved into the final podium place and duly came home in third with an average lap speed of 102.690mph.
With Todd retiring, it was left to Allann Venter to give Brunel University the honour of being the leading University.
The Duffy Motorsport pair – Mike Norbury and Shaun Anderson were next home with 83.289 and 72.026 respectively.
Matthew Rees, representing the University of Bath, was the final finisher, almost 13-minutes behind the winning Mugen of Rutter.
Fabio Quartararo undergoes successful arm pump surgery
Fabio Quartararo underwent arm pump surgery to his right forearm on Tuesday morning in Barcelona, in a procedure carried out at the Hospital Universitari Dexeus.
Although the issue was not an urgent one, Quartararo and his team decided to undergo surgery now in order to avoid future complications during the season.
The Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team rider sought medical advice following the Italian GP. Increased demands on his arm during the final part of the race had exacerbated the compartmental syndrome and caused him to investigate a more immediate solution.
Fabio Quartararo
“It’s an operation that we hadn’t previously scheduled, but which we decided to go ahead with after discussions with Dr. Xavier Mir following the Italian GP. The conditions I experienced last Sunday weren’t normal, and they alerted us to the possibility of an arm pump issue. I preferred to have it treated now, in order to avoid any surprises in the future and be able to forget about it for the rest of the season. It was a short operation and one often performed on many riders, and was done by an expert on the matter. I want to thank Dr. Mir and his team for their availability and their work. I’m looking forward to the Catalan GP next week!”
Fabio Quartararo
The operation, lasting just over 1 hour, was performed by Dr. Xavier Mir and the Icatme Department of Traumatology team.
Dr. Mir
“Yesterday Fabio came for a consultation and we did an MRI with rest and resistence, which confirmed that he was suffering from compartmental syndrome in his right forearm flexors. Once this diagnosis was made, we decided to release the flexor muscles by opening the compression. Today’s operation went well; now Fabio will undergo a treatment programme to prevent inflammation and will remain in hospital for 24 hours. In a couple of days he will begin physiotherapy and hopefully he will be fit to race at the Catalan GP.”
Fabio Quartararo at Jerez – Image by AJRN
The Frenchman is expected to be fit to participate in the Catalan GP on June 14th-16th.
After what had been a tumultuous first week of TT 2019, race action finally got underway at 1105 on Monday morning. Even Monday’s schedule had to be amended numerous times from the planned 1045 start. Firstly a medical emergency at Ramsey involving a member of the public put us back ten minutes as an ambulance was on course to attend that person. Then some problems with spectators at some parts of the course, and a motorcycle on fire at Creg Ny Baa added another small delay but Conor Cummins launched out of the hole at 1105 and TT 2019 was finally underway!
David Johnson was cool as a cucumber ahead of the Superbike TT as his mechanics fuelled his bike only moments before the race start
Preparation for many of the Superbike runners had been problematic with the extremely limited track time. Any motorcycle problems had caused riders to miss an entire session, thus many of the riders participating in this four-lap Superbike TT had hardly completed a lap of the 37.73-mile Mountain Course.
#1 Conor Cummins was the first rider off the start-line for TT 2019
Still, it would be fair to say that the smart money today would be on Peter Hickman or Dean Harrison. That form guide proved true early on with a 132.48mph from a standing start for Dean Harrison saw him take the lead early but Peter Hickman was only 1.088-seconds behind as they crossed the line at the end of that first lap.
Conor Cummins was in third place ahead of James Hillier and Michaell Rutter, while Michael Dunlop was sixth on the Tyco BMW ahead of Gary Johnson and South Australia’s David Johnson.
John McGuinness came in to the pits on the Norton at the end of lap one with an oil pressure light indicating that not all was well with the British machine.
Dean Harrison
Dean Harrison was on fire and nudging sector record times to extend his lead over Hickman to almost five-seconds at Ballaugh Bridge on lap two. Shortly after that sector he passed Conor Cummins on the road, the Honda man had started first, ten-seconds head of Harrison, but the Kawasaki man had closed him down.
Peter Hickman was now wound up though and he clawed back those five-seconds on Harrison in that latter half of the second lap.
Peter Hickman
Conor Cummins had also got the better of Harrison between Ramsey and Bungalow, that tussle perhaps a factor in slowing down Harrison a little on that second lap.
Into the pits
Conor Cummins and Dean Harrison the first riders into the pits, but still out on course, after starting from #10, Peter Hickman was the new race leader ahead of his pit-stop. In the final sector before his pit-stop Hickman had extended his buffer out to a 1.78-second lead over Harrison.
David Johnson was up to seventh place on the Honda Racing Fireblade.
The final two laps…
Through the first split after the pit stops Hickman’s advantage had been trimmed to 0.690-seconds over Harrison, but the pit stops had seen the Kawasaki get away in front of Conor Cummins, who while just over ten-seconds behind him on time, was running with him on track, while holding down third place in the race.
Conor Cummins
Michael Rutter was in fourth place ahead of Michael Dunlop while David Johnson had moved up to sixth place. Lee Johnston then retired from the race.
Red Flag
An incident on the circuit at Snugborough, just before Union Mills, then caused officials to put the red flag out. It was some time before we got an update as to whether the race would be started again, or if it would be declared as results. They were past the halfway mark thus declaration was an option for officials. It was around 45-minutes later that officials finally made the call to declare the race, presumably the incident was very serious and the clean-up time deemed to be lengthy.
Peter Hickman declared winner
Results for the race were declared as at the end of lap two, at which point Hickman had a narrow lead over Dean Harrison.
Conor Cummins takes the final step on the subdued rostrum ahead of James Hillier and Michael Rutter.
Michael Dunlop finishes sixth ahead of David Johnson and Jamie Coward. Gary Johnson ninth and Davey Todd rounded out the top ten.
Peter Hickman also carded the fastest lap of the race at 132.947 mph.
Conor Cummins was the first off the line at 1830 on Monday night in the opening Supersport race of TT 2019 ahead of Dean Harrison and John McGuinness. The time delay between each rider ten-seconds and the race distance four laps of the 37.73 mile mountain course, thus 243 kilometres all up for the 50+ race starters.
Conor Cummins
James Hillier was the fastest man out of the blocks to take the early race lead ahead of Gary Johnson and Dean Harrison. Lee Johnston though then promoted himself up to second place through the split at Ballaugh Bridge.
James Hillier
Lee Johnston then took the lead late on the opening lap at Bungalow to demote Hillier to second place. Peter Hickman was the man on a charge though and was up to third place by Bungalow.
Peter Hickman
The first time past the start-finish line it was Johnston in the lead by two-seconds over Hillier with Hickman a further two-seconds back in third place.
Michael Dunlop
Gary Johnson was in fourth ahead of Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop. Conor Cummins seventh ahead of Jamie Coward and Davey Todd while Ian Hutchinson rounded out the top ten.
Dean Harrison
On lap two Lee Johnston continued to pull away from Hillier as Hickman started to close in on the second place man, the gap down to half-a-second by Ballaugh Bridge.
Lee Johnston
Late on the second lap though Johnston’s lead had been whittled down from four-seconds down to almost nothing by Ramsey. Presumably some sort of problem onboard the Ashcourt Group sponsored YZF-R6 or a mistake by Johnston allowing Hillier to get back in the race for the lead.
Lee Johnston
The other possibility was that there were a few drops of light rain at one part of the circuit that had seen Johnston button it off a little more than Hillier. That hypothesis was confirmed at the end of lap two when officials put out the chequered flag due to worsening conditions on the mountain. The race declared after two laps and Lee Johnston declared the winner ahead of James Hillier and Peter Hickman.
Lee Johnston – TT 2019 – SS Race One
Despite the early culmination of that race Lee Johnston is still a very deserved race winner. He dominated that race from the get-go and the 30-year-old Northern Irishman was an emotional victor.
Monster Energy Supersport Race Results
Lee Johnston
James Hillier +3.641
Peter Hickman +4.967
Dean Harrison +17.971
Michael Dunlop +21.125
Conor Cummins +27.585
Gary Johnson +29.088
Jamie Coward +36.918
Davey Todd +58.691
Ian Hutchinson +66.796
Monster Energy Supersport Race Results Lee Johnston James Hillier +3.641 Peter Hickman +4.967
