Ian
Hutchinson became only the
second man to win four TT
Races in a week when he
clinched a thrilling second
Monster Energy Supersport
race on Thursday afternoon
by just 1.45s, the fourth
race in a row this week to
be decided by just a handful
of seconds. The Padgetts
Honda rider went toe to toe
with Michael Dunlop
throughout the four laps
and, having lost the lead
for the first time at
Ballaugh on the final lap,
charged over the Mountain to
keep the young Northern
Ireland rider at bay. Dunlop
had the consolation of
claiming a new lap record at
a stunning 127.836mph with
Keith Amor claiming another
third place.
With
the Island bathed in
beautiful sunshine and clear
blue skies, conditions were
perfect, save for blustery
winds in places, for some
high-speed excitement and
that’s exactly what everyone
was treated to. Hutchinson
showed his intent right from
the off and led through Glen
Helen although, as expected,
it was again close, his
advantage over Guy Martin
just 0.4s. Dunlop was only a
further 0.75s back with John
McGuinness in fifth and Ryan
Farquhar in sixth. Once
more, only 4.5s separated
the top ten at the first
timing point.
By
Ramsey Hairpin, Hutchinson’s
lead was still small, only
0.52s, but Dunlop had pushed
Martin back to third with
Bruce Anstey now up to
fourth showing good form on
the Relentless by TAS
Suzuki. At the end of the
lap, Hutchinson’s lead was
up to 5.4s as he lapped at
126.652mph. Dunlop was over
five seconds clear of Martin
with Keith Amor, Anstey and
John McGuinness rounding out
the top six.
It was
nip and tuck on the second
lap and whilst Dunlop could
significantly eat into
Hutchinson’s lead all the
way to Ramsey, bringing the
gap down to 1.4s at the
Hairpin, the man of the week
could pull away over the
Mountain, his short circuit
prowess coming into play.
Indeed, at the end of the
second lap, his lead had
increased slightly to 5.77s,
Martin still in third and
falling back from Dunlop but
still pulling away from
Amor. Local hero Conor
Cummins had fought his way
up to fifth with Anstey now
in sixth but it was still
close with only six seconds
splitting Cummins in fifth
and McGuinness in eighth.
A
quicker pit stop by Dunlop
saw him take time out of
Hutchinson but by Glen Helen
he found himself further
adrift to the tune of 6.4
seconds. However, he again
proved the stronger on the
twists and turns to Ramsey
and the lead was only 1.81s
as they rounded the Hairpin
for the penultimate time.
Hutchinson edged away up and
down the Mountain but as the
riders went on to their
final lap, the gap was only
3.19s and we were set for
another thrilling finale.
Martin was also under
extreme pressure from Amor,
only one second now
splitting the duo, with
Cummins still in fifth but
McGuinness now back up to
sixth.
At
Glen Helen, Hutchinson still
led but it was down to 1.9s
and at Ballaugh, Dunlop led
for the first time. He’d
built on that on the run to
Ramsey Hairpin and held a
1.82s lead as they headed up
the Mountain but Hutchinson
was back in front at the
Bungalow by 0.49s! As
everyone’s become accustomed
to this week, it was going
to be another nail biting
finish and as Hutchinson
flashed across the line, he
had an agonising wait for
Dunlop, who’d started 50
seconds behind. Hutchinson
broke Amor’s three day-old
lap record at 127.611mph but
Dunlop went even quicker at
127.836mph. However, it
wasn’t enough and he had to
settle for second by 1.45s.
Amor
put in another 126mph+ lap
to overhaul Martin and claim
his fourth TT podium whilst
McGuinness edged out Cummins
for fifth by the minuscule
margin of 0.23s. William
Dunlop had another strong
ride into seventh with
Anstey, Ryan Farquhar and
Dan Kneen rounding out the
top ten.
Hutchinson’s victory has
seen him already wrap up the
overall TT Championship with
an unassailable 36-point
lead but the race for the
inaugural Privateers
Championship is still very
much on. It was American
Jimmy Moore who was first
home in today’s race in 15th
overall, one place ahead of
Derek Brien with Olie
Linsdell in 18th
and Ben Wylie in 19th.
However, it’s James McBride
who continues to lead
overall with 60 points with
Moore now in second on 54
and Brien third on 46.