Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Belfast Live
Belfast Live
Sport
Gareth Fullerton

Isle of Man TT results: Emotional Michael Dunlop celebrates 21st win after Supersport masterclass

An emotional Michael Dunlop celebrated his 21st Isle of Man TT win on Friday after delivering a masterclass in the Monster Energy Supersport Race 2.

The Ballymoney rider led from start to finish before eventually edging out Peter Hickman by 3.2 seconds, with Dean Harrison third.

The front two were separated by less than a second throughout the reduced two-lap race, but Dunlop stretched his lead on the final lap to record his ninth win in the Supersport class - a new record.

Read more: Isle of Man TT LIVE updates from Friday's racing on the Mountain Course

It was another proud moment for the Dunlop racing family, with Michael carrying on the tradition carried by his legendary father and brother, Robert and William, and Uncle Joey who remains the record race winner at the TT with 26 victories.

Michael - who appeared to hold back the tears as the national anthem was played on the podium - admitted he was unsure he had even won Friday's Supersport race after crossing the finishing line, and didn't want to celebrate too prematurely.

"I knew the pressure was on, and I didn't even know coming in there," the 33-year-old smiled.

"The fans were probably thinking 'what's that strange b****** doing?'. I didn't know if it was me or Pete.

"Someone then said it was me, but you don't want to get too excited just in case someone says it wasn't you. But I knew I had ridden fast enough on the last lap to give it a go.

"I am really happy for the whole team and everything is brand new."

Reflecting on the victory, his second of the week after winning Monday's opening Supersport race, Dunlop added: "That was good craic, I must say.

"I knew it would be hard today. You're up against Pete and Dean and I knew it was going to be hard. And after the disappointment of Wednesday's Supertwin race where we had a few issues from the get-go.

"Just to prove we are still able to ride a motorbike again, we wanted to make sure we were fast and we were fast out of the crate.

"The 600 was mint, everything was mint, and the 600 has been mint all week. And when the bike is good I am fast, and that's the main thing."

Riders had to contend with some tricky conditions on the mountain section of the course, with high winds adding a new dimension to racing.

Dunlop said it was a factor in the race.

He said: "I knew it would affect me more than Pete, because his bike has torque and I new up the mountain was horrendous. I knew he would be eating me, because they have the torque.

"So I had to rider a wee bit harder."

Meanwhile, a red flag incident forced the abandonment of Friday's Sidecar race.

Ben and Tom Birchall were leading the way before the race was halted on the second lap.

That delay also saw the blue riband Milwaukee Senior TT pushed back before eventually being cancelled due to deteriorating weather on the island.

Organisers are set to discuss whether the race can be held on Saturday.

Read more: Last-lap agony for Michael Dunlop as Peter Hickman claims Supertwin victory

Read more: Watch: IoM TT riders narrowly avoid ball hazard on road during race

Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.