Dean Harrison surges to Superbike win

Hickman second and Dunlop third after epic battle

Dean Harrison has won the opening race of the 2026 Isle of Man TT Races after commanding from start to finish in the six-lap Superbike TT this afternoon (31 May).

The now-Island resident led from the very first sector to the very last as he claimed a third Honda victory in the last two years, 15.5 seconds ahead of Peter Hickman in second.

Hickman's second-placed finish followed a titanic battle with Michael Dunlop MBE who came home third after the two had traded sector-for-sector for the majority of the race in a gripping duel on course.

During the opening salvo on lap one, it was Dean Harrison setting the early standard out front, managing a blistering standing start pace of 134.892mph - that saw him open an early gap of 12 seconds to Dunlop in second whose advantage over Peter Hickman in third was at under one second.

The race leader then continued extending his dominance on lap two with Harrison's lead out to more than 24 seconds over Dunlop who in turn was just under three-tenths of a second clear of Hickman heading into the first pit stops.

The Honda rider's lead out front had expanded outwards again to nearly 29 seconds by the start of lap four as he continued to lead on both the road and the leaderboards whilst Dunlop and Hickman - continuing their nip-and-tuck battle for second - had stretched almost half-a-minute clear of Josh Brookes in fourth.

As the second and last remaining pit stops beckoned ahead of lap five, unlike two years ago, there were no major dramas for the frontrunners with their stops - that saw Harrison head into pit lane with a 33-second advantage over the Hickman and Dunlop thriller in behind.

Further back and heading into the final two laps, Josh Brookes and John McGuinness occupied fourth and fifth respectively whilst Jamie Coward, Ian Hutchinson, Mike Browne, Nathan Harrison and Conor Cummins were rounding out the top ten.

Fast forward and to how the final lap of the six-lap showdown began to unfold, as Harrison remained comfortable out front, Hickman took a crucial advantage in the battle for second as a quick pit stop heading onto lap five helped him extend his gap from Dunlop in third to just over seven seconds heading onto the final run of the afternoon.

That, however, would have no bearing on deciding the winner as - having led from the very first sector - Harrison took the chequered flag whilst appearing to slow over lap six before, a short time later, the members of the winners enclosure were confirmed with Hickman finishing 12.4 seconds ahead of Dunlop after a gripping contest between the two of them.

Tomorrow (1 June) is due to be a rest day on the Snaefell Mountain Course, racing is currently scheduled to return on Tuesday, 2 June with the Supersport TT Race 1 and Sportbike TT Race 1.

As it stands, roads around the course are due to shut on Tuesday at 10am - all timings remain subject to change.