2016 Isle of Man TT: RST Superbike TT
Michael Dunlop set new lap and race records in the RST Superbike TT, becoming the first rider to ever lap Isle of Man TT Mountain Course in under 17 minutes.
Dunlop broke the record on the opening lap, laying down a time of 16:58.439 on a BMW S1000RR, for an average speed of 133.369 mph. The previous record was set last year by John McGuinness in the Senior TT with a time of 17:03.567 and an average speed of 132.701 mph.
Five other racers averaged faster than 130 mph on the first lap with Ian Hutchinson the closest at 132.892 mph which was also faster than the previous record. Even more impressive is this was accomplished on the opening lap starting from a stand-still. How much faster could they get with a running start?
Dunlop answered that question on the second lap, lapping the 37.733-mile course in 16:58.254, setting another record with an average speed of 133.393 mph. The record-setting lap gave Dunlop a 7.5-second lead over Hutchinson with Dean Harrison and McGuinness another 31 seconds back.
Going into the pits didn’t slow Dunlop down as he emerged an additional four seconds ahead of Hutchison. The fourth lap saw Dunlop, Hutchinson and McGuinness riding close together before they headed to the pit one last time.
Dunlop was comfortably ahead for the final two laps, completing the six-lap race with a record time of 1:44:14.259, setting a new Superbike TT record by averaging a speed of 130.306 mph. Hutchinson finished second, putting a pair of BMW S1000RRs on top of the podium, joined by McGuinness’ Honda in third.
2016 Isle of Man TT: Superbike TT Top Five Results | ||||
Pos. | Rider | Machine/Team | Time | Speed |
1 | Michael Dunlop | BMW/Hawk Racing | 1:44:14.259 | 130.306 mph |
2 | Ian Hutchinson | BMW/Tyco BMW | 1:44:33.323 | 129.910 mph |
3 | John McGuinness | Honda Racing | 1:45:27.498 | 128.798 mph |
4 | Peter Hickman | Kawasaki/GBmoto Racing Kawasaki | 1:45:44.951 | 128.444 mph |
5 | Dean Harrison | Kawasaki/Silicone Engineering | 1:46:09.896 | 126.132 mph |
6 | Michael Rutter | BMW/Penz13.com | 1:48:04.608 | 125.677 mph |
More by Dennis Chung
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