Michael Dunlop and Peter Hickman won all eight solo races between them at the 2023 Isle of Man TT as they dominated the notorious motorcycle road racing spectacle, which is held annually on the tiny island in the middle of the Irish Sea.
Northern Ireland’s Dunlop chalked up four victories to become the second most successful TT rider ever, with his new mark of 25 wins surpassing 23-time winner John McGuinness, who is still competing at the event in the factory Honda Racing UK team aged 51.
Dunlop requires one more triumph around the 37.73-mile (60.72km) Mountain Course to equal his legendary uncle Joey’s all-time record of 26.
The 34-year-old won the opening six-lap Superbike race, beating Hickman by 8.2s, for his first victory in the flagship class since 2018.
He completed the gruelling distance in a time of 1h 43m 01.854s at an average speed of 131.832mph (212.163km/h) on his 1000cc Hawk Racing Honda Fireblade.
Hickman set a new lap record on the final lap at 133.445mph (214.758km/h) on his FHO Racing BMW M1000RR, with fellow English rider Dean Harrison completing the top three, almost 10 seconds further back on his DAO Racing Kawasaki ZX-10RR.
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Dunlop also won both Supersport races on his MD Racing Yamaha YZF-R6, setting the first ever 130mph lap in the class in race two and raising the lap record to 130.403mph (208.863km/h). Hickman, who twice finished as the runner-up on his Trooper Triumph 765, also recorded a 130mph lap as he chased Dunlop in the second race.
Dunlop’s four-timer included a win in the first Supertwin race on his 650cc Italian Paton S1-R, but he broke down in the second race while leading, denying him the chance of a record-equalling 26th success.
Hickman won both Superstock races from Dunlop and set the fastest ever lap recorded at the TT in race two, powering around the notorious Mountain Course at 136.358mph (219.446km/h) on his BMW.
The 36-year-old won the second Supertwin event on his Yamaha R7 after Dunlop’s retirement and went into the prestigious Senior TT finale aiming to secure his fourth victory of the two-week meeting.
The stage was set for an expected showdown between Hickman and Dunlop, but the anticipated duel between the top two never materialised.
Instead, Hickman set a blistering pace from the beginning with Harrison doing his best in second on his Kawasaki to remain in the hunt.
Hickman, though, gradually began to open an unassailable lead.
After recording the fastest ever TT lap from a standing start at 135.349mph, he broke the Senior lap record on his second lap with a speed of 135.507mph (218.077km/h), giving him an 11.8s advantage.
Hickman then managed his pace to maintain a comfortable cushion over Harrison and went on to wrap up his 13th TT win by almost 20 seconds, with Dunlop over 20 seconds further back in third on corrected time.
Dunlop, who will now have to wait until 2024 for the chance to equal his uncle Joey’s record – which has stood since 2000 – said a set-up change hampered his prospects.
“I just struggled from lap one. I really thought the pace would have been a lot quicker, but I just struggled a wee bit,” said Dunlop.
“The bike never missed a beat, it’s prepped fantastically. I just sort of made a wrong decision myself with a wee bit of set-up.
“I wanted to go a bit quicker because I knew the pace was going to get hotter after obviously the ’stock race [when Hickman set a new 136mph (218.871km/h) outright lap record], but we just got caught in a rut.
“But it was going to be a tight race, I knew that, but it just took me until the fifth or sixth lap.
“We made a change in the pits that helped me along but I just never settled into it.”
It was a disappointing end to race week for Dunlop, but his latest four wins have placed him second on the all-time winners’ list at the foremost motorcycle road race in the world.
“Regardless of the situation, we’ve won four races this week,” he said.
“It’s good for the team and it’s good for me to become the second most successful ever person around the TT.
“I won on the big bike, I won on the 600 and I won on the twin; I don’t know, I’m a bit disappointed because I thought we had more but it just wasn’t to be.”
Hickman, meanwhile, was overjoyed to cap another memorable TT with victory in the showpiece Senior.
The 13-time winner is now only one win behind TT legend Mike ‘The Bike’ Hailwood’s tally of 14 victories.
“It’s just amazing and I said it already, but the team has been working so hard to try and get this bike right,” said Hickman.
“It really hasn’t been right until this morning when we did the warm-up lap – finally I could actually ride the thing rather than it taking me for a ride.
“I knew it was going to be a fast pace, Michael (Dunlop) has been on it all week, also Dean (Harrison) certainly got out of the right side of bed didn’t he? It’s just awesome to see.
“I had a bit more if I really, really needed it but I didn’t want to if I didn’t have to,” he added.
“To be one [win] behind Mike Hailwood – oh my God, what a statement that is. It’s just unbelievable to be quite honest.”
History was also made in the three-wheel Sidecar class when brothers Ben and Tom Birchall recorded the first 120mph lap in the class, establishing a new lap record of 120.645mph (194.159km/h) in their 600cc LCR Honda outfit.
The English driver and passenger combination won both races to increase their winning tally to 14 victories.
Australian rider David Johnson, from Adelaide, claimed four top-ten finishes on his Jackson Racing Honda machines in the Supersport, Superstock and Senior races. Johnson missed the TT last year through injury.
Sadly, Spanish rider Raul Torras Martinez lost his life after crashing in the first Supertwin race on his 660cc Aprilia machine.
The 46-year-old was the fastest Spaniard ever to lap the TT course, recording his fastest speed at 125.470mph (201.924km/h) in the opening Superstock race this year.
His was the 267th fatal accident at the event in its 116-year history.
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