Ian Hutchinson made it two from
two at the 2010 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by
Monster Energy when he won a record-breaking and
thrilling first Monster Energy Supersport race on
Monday morning, taking the victory by just
3.03seconds. The Padgetts Honda rider overhauled Guy
Martin to take his fifth TT victory with the Wilson
Craig Honda rider again having to settle for second
whilst Michael Dunlop came through after a sluggish
opening lap to take third.
With conditions perfect all
around the Mountain Course, it was Martin who stole
the early advantage at Glen Helen on the opening
lap, leading Hutchinson by 1.7 seconds with Manxman
Daniel Kneen putting in a stunning ride in third,
another 1.6 seconds back. Positions were close
behind with John McGuinness, William Dunlop, Ryan
Farquhar, Conor Cummins and Bruce Anstey occupying
positions 4th to 8th and
separated by just 1.6 seconds. Dunlop, meanwhile,
was back in ninth.
By Ramsey, Martin had eked out
another tenth of a second but Hutchinson was
stronger over the Mountain and with an opening lap
of 125.536mph, he led the Lincolnshire rider by just
eight tenths of a second. Kneen was still holding on
to third with Dunlop getting in to his stride and up
to fourth. Brother William was also having a strong
ride in fifth with Cummins moving up to sixth on the
McAdoo Kawasaki.
Martin showed his prowess on
the first nine miles again though and he turned his
deficit in to a 0.33s advantage second time around,
Kneen still in third but now only 0.5s ahead of a
charging Dunlop. The field behind were still
extremely bunched up with just fractions of a second
splitting William Dunlop, Amor, Cummins and
McGuinness.
Just like the opening lap,
Hutchinson proved to be quicker for the remainder of
the lap though and having got back in to the lead at
Ramsey Hairpin by over 2 seconds, a second lap of
126.207mph now gave him a 3.39s lead as they came in
to refuel. Dunlop had also lapped in excess of
126mph to seize third from Kneen with William Dunlop
and McGuinness now holding on to fifth and sixth.
Anstey was in trouble though and stopped at Ballaugh
where he was reported as making adjustments.
After the riders left the pits
after their solitary fuel stop, Hutchinson had
pulled further ahead to lead by four seconds, whilst
Dunlop was closing in on Martin, now only six
seconds adrift. Martin again charged through the
high speed run to Ballacraine and the twists and
turns of the Glen Helen section to lie just 0.28s
behind his fellow Honda rider Hutchinson whilst Amor
was also inching his way up the leaderboard, the
Scots ace now moving up to fifth at the expense of
William Dunlop.
Hutchinson was almost five
seconds to the good as the riders went on to their
final 37 and ¾ miles but Martin was putting in a
determined final lap and continued to reel
Hutchinson back as they tore round the Mountain
Course. The gap kept coming down at each timing
point and when Hutchinson flashed across the line
after a lap of 126.362mph, the stopwatch began.
Martin broke the old lap record with a speed of
126.555mph but it wasn’t enough and Hutchinson took
his second win of the week by 3.03 seconds.
Dunlop was also inside the old
lap record but hugely disappointed with his third
place whilst it was Amor who claimed the lap record
with a stunning final lap of 126.909mph. This was
enough to push Kneen back to fifth but it was still
an excellent ride by the 22-year old. William
Dunlop, John McGuinness, Conor Cummins, Ryan
Farquhar and Cameron Donald completed the top ten.
In the race for the Privateers
Championship, it was Derek Brien who was first home
in an excellent 13th place overall whilst
Ben Wylie was second, the newcomer of 2009 having a
great ride in to 15th. Olie Linsdell,
James McBride and Chris Palmer rounded out the
leading privateers in the race but it’s Wylie and
Stephen Oates who currently top the table after two
races, the duo both having 26 points.