Dunlop smashed Isle of Man TT Supersport lap record “for the craic”

The Ulsterman edged closer to the all-time win record at the TT of 26 on Wednesday after scoring his second Supersport victory of the 2023 event on his MD Racing Yamaha.

Dunlop beat Peter Hickman by just under 10 seconds to notch up his 25th career win, setting a new Supersport lap record of 130.403mph – the first-ever 130mph lap of the TT course for the class.

Speaking to TT+ after his fourth win of the week, Dunlop said: “We’re always working in the workshop, over the winter we’re trying to get the better package and it’s hard because the newer generation bike with the higher cc is making our bike work harder.

“The wee bike’s been faultless all week, it’s been fantastic. I had a bit of a bother before the first race and got it sorted. But she’s been mint.

“The 600 [Supersport] class has been good to me over the years, and to do the double this year and obviously the 130… I always knew I could do the 130.

“So, I said on the last lap I’d try and do it for the craic. So, it was a good race.”

Peter Hickman, Supersport

Photo by: ttracesofficial/Pacemaker Press

Second-placed Hickman put Dunlop under some threat during the final lap of Wednesday’s Supersport race and ultimately became the second rider in history to post a 130mph lap in the class after completing his final tour at 130.2mph.

Hickman says he could have been faster still on his last lap but backed off a little when he saw Dunlop’s lead growing again.

“I’m not a million miles away, that’s for sure,” Hickman said.

“I was pushing on that last lap. To be fair, in the first half of the lap I was on the limit everywhere and I could see the time was coming down a little bit.

“And then my next board it had gone up to 9.6s from 8s, and from that point I actually rolled off towards the end of the lap.

“So, I could have gone a little bit faster at least. But it still wasn’t going to be enough for the win. He pulled the gap early on and I’m too far back from the start.”

Picture credit @ttracesofficial/Pacemaker Press