Harrison storms to Superbike win at Isle of Man TT
· Yahoo Sports
Dean Harrison claimed a dominant victory in the opening Superbike race at the Isle of Man TT.
Honda rider Harrison won by 15.580 seconds ahead of Peter Hickman and Michael Dunlop, who had an entertaining battle for second place.
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Hickman pulled clear in the closing stages to take second by 12.416 seconds ahead of Dunlop, who has a record 33 wins at the TT.
Behind the podium trio, Josh Brookes and John McGuinness - running a special livery on his Honda to mark the 30th anniversary of his debut - were in the top five.
It is a sixth victory at the event for Harrison, who backed up his pace throughout practice week around the 37.73-mile course, which is comprised of closed public roads.
"I'm over the moon. I went hard at the start to try and make a buffer. I've felt strong all week," Harrison said on TT Plus.
"It's hard to keep your concentration over six laps, it's so physical. We'll try again later in the week and hopefully there's a few more to come."
Starting third on the road, Harrison, 37, came flying out of the blocks as he led by 4.8 seconds ahead of Dunlop by the time the riders reached the first timing line at Glen Helen.
Harrison kept growing his lead throughout his opening lap and toured the circuit with an average speed of 134.892mph from a standing start to lead by 12 seconds over Dunlop and Hickman, who were separated by less than one second.
The lead at the top grew to 20 seconds by the time the Yorkshire rider hit Ramsey on the second lap, as Hickman and Dunlop battled their way through traffic.
After the pit stops at the end of the second lap, Harrison checked out and build his advantage to 28 seconds as Hickman and Dunlop continued to battle behind.
They swapped second position several times on the fourth lap, but Hickman's second pit stop, which was four seconds faster than Dunlop, gave him a buffer he would not relinquish.
Harrison took the chequered flag and the race win as he cruised over the line with a 15-second margin, and he will be the favourite for the Senior TT, which is scheduled for Saturday.
He will also be favourite for the two Superstock races, the first of which has yet to be rescheduled after being postponed from Saturday, after his lap of 135mph in practice.
'We know what the problem is'
For Hickman, who was injured in a crash at last year's Isle of Man TT, he said that Harrison was "riding the crest of a wave".
"It's fantastic to be back on the podium. Well done to Dean, he has done a fantastic job all week," he said.
"I'm just happy to be here. It has been a long way to get here. I'm not quite feeling me yet but I'm starting to get there.
"I'm so thankful to everyone for their support, they have been fantastic."
After he opted to ride his Honda Superbike in a last-minute change after issues with the Ducati he had planned to run, Dunlop said he was struggling and did not expect to be on "podium pace".
"It's been really tough with the big bikes this week. We know what the problem is but there's not much we can do to solve it," he said.
"We knew it was going to be hard work. You need to bring your 'A game' to beat Dean on the big bike at the minute and he has played it smart.
"We left it too late to be here and it's my own fault".
The next races are set to take place on Tuesday when the Supersport and Sportbike TTs are scheduled - both of which Dunlop will be favourite for - but forecasted showers over the next seven days could impact race week.
The two Sidecar races have been cancelled on safety grounds after a review of a crash during qualifying that left reigning sidecar champions Ryan and Callum Crowe in hospital on Wednesday.
In a qualifying week that had been overshadowed by accidents, Maria Costello and passenger Shaun Parker were also injured in a Sidecar crash on Tuesday.
On Monday, eight spectators and a rider were injured when a solo bike crashed into the crowd in untimed practice, and English rider Daniel Ingham died in a crash in qualifying on Wednesday at Doran's bend.
Superbike TT race results
1. Dean Harrison (Honda) 1:43:08.867/131.681mph
2. Peter Hickman (BMW) +15.580 seconds
3. Michael Dunlop (Honda) +12.416
4. Josh Brookes (Honda) +56.781
5. John McGuinness (Honda) +19.568
6. Ian Hutchinson (BMW) +48.059
7. Jamie Coward (Honda) +1.273
8. Nathan Harrison (Honda) +45.624
9. Mike Browne (Honda) +27.110
10. Paul Jordan (Honda) +20.572