After sweeping both Supersport races this week in the weather-impacted Isle of Man TT, Michael Dunlop added a Sportbike TT win to his tally. He has managed to win three of the four races run so far this week, with only Dean Harrison also reaching the top step of the podium in the first of two Carole Nash Superbike TTs.
Dunlop's victory in the brief two-lap race further extends his all-time win record to 36, ten more than his uncle, Joey Dunlop.
While Dunlop quickly pulled away from the competition, the battle for the lower podium positions was very entertaining. Mike Browne held it early, but Paul Jordan edged ahead at the end of Lap 1. Through Glen Helen on the final lap, there was just two tenths between them. Browne moved ahead by a single second at Ballaugh, and slowly extended it into Ramsey, but Jordan started to reel him back in at Bungalow.
While Dunlop won by 28.775 seconds, Browne prevailed in the battle for second by just 0.663s over Jordan in third! Peter Hickman was a distant fourth, 27 seconds adrift of the podium spots. Jamie Coward rounded out the top five.
Joe Yeardsley, Dominic Herbertson, Baz Furber, Michal Dokoupil, and Michael Sweeney filled out the remainder of the top ten.
There were four retirements, and three riders who did not start -- among those who did not start was Jamie Cringle, who was awake-and-alert but transported to a local hospital after a crash in the Supersport TT that immediately preceded this race.
The Senior TT, which was moved up to Friday due to weather, is set to follow later today as Dunlop attempts to sweep all three races in a single day. He has not claimed a victory in the Senior TT since 2017.
