2 days ago
Michael Dunlop sets lap record on way to 33rd TT victory: ‘It's a great wee bike'
The Northern Ireland rider's record haul of victories around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course now stands at a staggering 33 wins ahead of today's final Senior race.
Dunlop has also won both Supersport races this year and hasn't been off the podium in any race he has started, finishing second in the Superbike race and earning two thirds in the Superstock races.
He went into the Entire Cover Insurance Supertwin race as the hot favourite following a wide-margin win over Manx rider Michael Evans in the opener.
True to form, Dunlop was rarely threatened, opening a lead of 12 seconds over Davey Todd (Milenco by Padgett's Paton) after the first of three laps.
He lost a few seconds during his pit-stop to Todd, but Dunlop quickly restored a commanding advantage of 14.5s by the end of the penultimate lap.
He blasted the lap record on his final circuit with a speed of 123.056mph to win by 26.77s from Todd, with Dominic Herbertson 20.5s back in third on the Melbray Racing Paton.
Afterwards, Dunlop said he was surprised by his lap record feat and felt he had rolled off the pace slightly to nurse his Paton home safely for another TT success.
'Very nice, was that on the last lap?' Dunlop said.
'I'm a bit surprised because I backed off a little bit because I saw I had a bit of a lead.
'It [gap] dropped away down after the pit-stop and came back up again. I said 'I'll get a push on here', and then on the last lap we just nursed it.
'That's three Patons in here and people say it's because I'm on a Paton [wins races].
'They are a great wee bike and the bike has been mint, that's a double again.
'I'd like to have a lap on my own without any stress to see what I could really do but thanks to everybody.
'My main thing is it's another win under the belt. I'm happy enough and my job is to win the race.'
Giving his thoughts on his chances in today's Senior, Dunlop added: 'I'll have and that's four this week already, so it's a bit of an achievement again, so I'm happy. We'll just keep going and see what we're made of.'
Runner-up Todd said he gave it his all but claimed his Paton was no match for Dunlop's machine.
'We're never going to compete with that thing, there's absolutely zero chance, but not taking anything away from Michael because he's riding super hard,' said Todd.
'I rode that as hard as I could and I'm super-stoke to get the Milenco by Padgett's team up on the box again.
'Clive [Padgett] bought this Paton here and tried to make the best of it.
'I really struggled in that first race and I think the boys really got their heads together, and Clive's given me a great bike.'
Herbertson was toasting his second TT podium after previously finishing on the rostrum in the Supertwin class last year on a Paton for John Burrows' team.
'I'm absolutely over the moon,' he said.
'The team bought a Paton, we've dug in and I don't know what to say.
'Five-and-a-half weeks to turn this around and I cannot thank everyone enough.
'Being number 13 – unlucky for some but not for us.'
Manx rider Michael Evans, second in race one, retired on the opening lap, while Rob Hodson from Wigan – third in the opening Supertwin race – dropped out with a problem while lying third.
Paul Jordan from Magherafelt came home in fourth on the Jackson Racing Aprilia, 3.1s behind Herbertson, with Mike Browne (KMR/Jack Reid Cars Kawasaki) and Adam McLean (Flitwick Motorcycles Yamaha) from Tobermore completing the top six.
