Isle of Man TT
Monday – RST Superbike TT
Davey Todd won a sizzling Superbike TT on the Isle of Man on Monday after a four-lap war with Michael Dunlop in what proved to be one of the finest big-bike TTs we’ve seen in recent times.
Spectators hung on every word of the commentary right until the flag, with no one sure who was going to take the plaudits. In the end Todd just got it by 1.2s with each rider lapping at 135 mph on the final lap. It’s the third TT win of Davey’s career and means he has now taken out the last three 1000 cc races held over the Mountain course. Impressive stuff from the 27-year-old.
Honda Racing’s Dean Harrison completed the podium in third some 45s back. By the finish, the Bradford man was well out of the race for the win but enjoyed a comfortable ride to the bottom step on the rostrum. Nevertheless, Harrison will be a little disappointed after a really strong showing in practice. Harrison seems these days to be never off the podium, but can’t get the job done when it matters. The BMW men just too strong over the full race distance.
His namesake, (but no relation) Nathan Harrison came home fourth. The young Manxman will be the toast of the island tonight, finally showing the form that led to Honda racing signing him up two years ago before letting him go for this season.
Aussie David Johnson gave a fine performance on the Platinum Club Kawasaki, bagging a steady fifth place in the race, a very welcome result coming 12 months after his bruising crash at Conker Trees 12 months ago. Johnson banked a 132mph lap on the final circuit, proving he is still a serious contender after some trying years for the Adelaide star.
2025 Isle of Man TT – Superbike Race One – Image by Jim Gibson
James Hillier completed the top six ahead of John McGuinness and Josh Brookes.
The island couldn’t quite believe their eyes when they awoke in the morning, for they were greeted with blue skies; something that seemed unthinkable yesterday evening after 10 days of unseasonably bad weather.
However, it almost felt as though the Manx Fairies were teasing us. The race had originally been pencilled in to start at 1045 but a diesel spill on the mountain forced a half-hour delay. A second spill between St. Ninians and Quarter Bridge after that then pushed the start back to midday. It was announced that, like last year’s Senior TT, the race would be cut to four-laps, and you could almost hear the collective groan around the circuit.
It was excruciating sitting in the hedge, knowing that the weather conditions were finally perfect for racing, but once again the island was stuck in limbo. The atmosphere was flatlining after such a trying week. And you could sense the nervous tension amongst the riders as Chris Kinley and Beth Espey of the circuit commentary team did their rounds and interviewed competitors to fill the clear air in the meantime.
Finally, at midday, John McGuinness paddled his big number 1 Honda Fireblade forward to the line to make his 112th TT start. After the 10 second countdown, Mark Pendlebury (the famous shoulder tap man) did his thing, and we were racing.
The pace was absolutely frantic from the outset and Davey Todd had almost caught Josh Brookes by the time they jumped the Crosby leap.
Indeed, Todd led the race at Glen Helen but it was by just 0.04s from Dean Harrison. Dunlop was a few seconds back in third and it was some unfamiliar faces who completed the top six. Nathan Harrison was in fourth ahead of Mike Browne (who was riding the injured Jamie Coward’s BMW), and young Jim Hind on a very nice Honda Fireblade painted in old 1990s Castrol Honda colours.
Behind them, a hungry mob that included David Johnson and Josh Brookes was vying for supremacy, with just over 2s covering fourth through seventeenth.
While Brian McCormack retired at Quarter Bridge just miles from the start, Todd was pulling away at the front. The order of the top three remained unchanged until the Bungalow, where Dunlop took over second place and the task of hunting the 8Ten BMW down from Harrison.
Sadly, it was reported that Kiwi Mitch Rees had slid off unhurt at the hairpin, bringing to a close his first-ever race around the Mountain course prematurely.
At the end of the opening lap, Todd’s lead was out to nearly 8s, and you had to wonder at that point if he was simply going to pull away and dominate the field.
But Michael, riding the World Superbike spec Rokit M1000RR, began eating into Davey’s lead, shaving seconds off it at Glen Helen and Ballaugh. Todd then got the message, for he increased his lead as they raced toward the only pit stop.
When they pitted, Todd’s lead was just shy of 8s. However, there was drama when the number 8 machine appeared to have issues getting away. Eventually, it fired, but the advantage he had enjoyed was all but gone, with Dunlop now a meagre second behind him.
Mike Browne, who had looked very smooth and steady, unfortunately retired at the pits with what’s thought to have been an issue with the rear caliper.
Shaun Anderson also crashed out at the fast ‘Joey’s’ section, but thankfully was reported as being ok.
Todd appeared to be back in control, for the lead was back out to 3s at Ballaugh. But by the time they hit Ramsey MD had clawed it back to 1.9. And just minutes later, when Todd swooped through the Bungalow, Chris Boyd in the commentary tower exclaimed, ‘Dunlop is coming!’ The difference was now just over a second, as the TT titans went head-to-head racing across the mountain towards the final lap.
The race was on.
However, the gap see-sawed back out to 1.9s at the Grandstand. And as the frontrunners fleeced through Crosby for the final time, Michael had Dean Harrison in his sights on the road, and this would prove to be important later in the lap.
‘It’s down, it’s down!’ exclaimed the excited Boyd as they hit Glen Helen for the final time. Here Todd and Dunlop were almost inseparable, with just two-hundredths of a second between them. But that’s as close as it got.
Over the final miles, Michael would catch Harrison and struggle to overtake him while Todd held his nerve and pushed for home.
Michael and Dean were together for quite some time before the Ballymoney man forced the issue and slipped under him at Rhencullen; a frightening move.
From then on, despite Michael’s tyre degradation the leaders lapped at breakneck pace towards the finish- each of them on 135 mph laps. Their pace was identical, with Todd’s two-second advantage remaining constant.
While MD managed to claw a little back in the final sector, it was never going to be enough, and Todd brought his own, 8Ten racing Monster Energy BMW home 1.296s ahead of his fierce rival at the flag.
Michael Dunlop’s rear tyre was in his own words ‘absolutely shagged’ by the end. It came apart and smashed the rear hugger in the final miles, and really, he was lucky to see the flag.
But take nothing away from Todd, for he was seriously impressive and led from start to finish. The Saltburn man wasn’t without his own problems, too; those issues in the pit lane meant that he lost 7s at the mid-race pit-stop.
Davey Todd
“Just have to say a massive thankyou to everyone who’s been apart of creating this team in the past three months. BMW, Monster energy- all the sponsors who’ve made it happen. I’m just a bit speechless right now. It’s been a crazy week weather-wise. And I was more nervous than I’ve ever been this morning with the conditions. I know we had good pace and just didn’t want to show too much in practice. Yeah, that’s all I can say.”
They say that revenge is a dish best served cold. And ever since the North West 200, the fans have been debating the rights and wrongs of Dunlop’s controversial victory over Todd in the second Superbike race at the Irish race.
Today will go some way to easing Todd’s pain on that front. And given that his business partner, Peter Hickman, is out of the TT after crashing heavily in practice, winning this one on a bike run by the team they each co-own will have made today’s champagne taste even sweeter.
Darren Jones – 8Ten Team Manager
“We’re understandably delighted with the win after the way the last few days of gone and it was an unbelievable day of racing – it’s a good pick up for the team after Pete’s accident. Davey rode hard and he rode really so to get the victory, our first as a team, and lap at 135.3mph – despite running out of fuel – is reward for everyone’s hard work. It was great to have Pete with us today and join in the celebrations so a big thank you to the team for all of their hard work and also to all our sponsors for their tremendous support. We only had a wheel stand three months ago yet here we are now as TT winners – amazing.”
However, it should be noted that Hickman’s team loaned the Rokit BMW team some parts for this race, proving that the camaraderie and sportsmanship between these road racers is as strong as ever.
Nathan Harrison a very popular fourth while David Johnson’s fifth an encouraging start to race week for the Australian.
Honda Racing’s 23-time TT winner John McGuinness MBE brought the crowd to its feet with a rousing performance as he climbed from 14th to seventh by the flag after a slow start and set an average speed lap of 131.173 mph.
John McGuinness MBE
“The oil was tricky for my race as first bike out on the road. It’s the same for everybody, you just don’t know, do you, the first time you go into it. You just see who’s the bravest and the oil at Bray Hill was fine. The oil up on the mountain was okay but, once everybody on that first lap got through it, we knew where it was and we could just ride up on the inside of it. But conditions as a whole were really good. Considering that the whole lot got washed away with rain overnight I think the grip level was alright and after a lap you could see the lines and it just got better and better through the race. We got away with the wind. I think the organisers did a good job today. After the weather in Practice Week and the way it’s blowing now this evening, what else is going to get thrown at us with this TT. To get a four-lap Superbike race, a two-lap Sidecar race and a three-lap Supersport race, a full day, completed in these conditions with everyone in one piece is a great result for the organisers. I’m pleased for the team that they’ve got two podiums and for me a 131 mph lap at the end of the race was going in the right direction. It was a bit of a steady start, I need a bit of a rocket up my backside at the start! I just don’t find the groove for a bit and then seem to get going as the race goes along a bit. But I never made any mistakes, everything was good, I was enjoying everything, the pit stops were mint and I wasn’t tired in the race. It shows I wasn’t tired because I did my fastest lap on the last lap. I’m old school, I’m a ‘cup of tea and a biscuit’ man, and when I started racing round here there were no energy supplements. Havier, the boss, has drilled it into me to death about the importance of having the right hydration and supplements and I’m okay – but it was nice to get a dirty Cornish pastie in me after the race, that went down a treat! The bike never missed a beat and we’ve got a few ideas to improve it for the Senior TT towards the end of the week but climbing from 14th to seventh in the race I’m really pleased with. We’ve all sort of woken up.”
Josh Brookes was somewhat disappointed to finish eighth, crossing the line more than two-minutes behind the winner at the end of the four-lap distance.
Josh Brookes
“I was a bit disappointed with the Superbike result and lap times to be honest and I expected a bit more. A few Hondas finished ahead of me so there’s clearly more speed to be found but it’s taking me a while to get comfortable with the bike and I’m not a rider to take unnecessary risks. Some riders can hit the 133+ laps straightaway whereas I’m a slow burner, steadily getting quicker as the event progresses. A bit of self-preservation kicks in when I’m not totally comfortable or confident but today has given us a bit more of a direction and it’s all a process where we build and build so I’m hoping to perform better in the other big bike races.”
Tuesday, we do it all again with the RL360 Superstock race due to start at 1045, followed by the Metzeler Supertwins TT in the afternoon.
At the time of going to press, there is a yellow weather warning in place, with gale-force winds and heavy rain due to fall in the night.
Tomorrow is supposed to be much better, but if the this year’s TT has taught has taught us anything it is to take these daily schedule updates with a pinch of salt.
2025 RST Superbike TT Results
2025 RST Superbike TT Race – Fast Laps
