Isle of Man TT 2016: Supersport victory for Hutchinson

Ian Hutchinson at Tower Bends as he powers his way to victory in the opening Supersport race

Ian Hutchinson powered his way to a 12th Isle of Man TT success by winning the first Supersport race of the week.

The Yorkshire rider led from start to finish and had a 14.3-second advantage over Michael Dunlop by the end.

Dunlop was later disqualified due to a technical infringement, moving Dean Harrison up to second with James Hillier in the final podium position.

Hutchinson was just outside Dunlop's lap record of 128.666mph as he set the fastest lap at 128.26.

Dunlop was excluded from the results after the infringement was identified during a post-race examination.

The organisers have said they "do not believe there was a deliberate attempt to gain an unfair advantage and no significant performance advantage was gained".

Record breaker

Came Yamaha rider Hutchinson, a double winner in the Supersport class last year, made his intentions clear from the start as he built up a 10-second lead over his nearest rival Dunlop thanks to an opening lap of 127.87.

He maintained a steady pace to see off the challenge of his Northern Irish rival, beating the previous race record by 15.2 seconds.

The Bingley rider was again racing for Prodigy frontman Keith Flint's Team Traction Control

For Hutchinson, it was a seventh triumph in the 600cc class, the most by any rider.

The Bingley rider, who was again racing for Prodigy frontman Keith Flint's Team Traction Control team, joins Dunlop as the fourth most successful solo rider in the history of the event.

"I seem to have a real connection with this bike and I knew I had to push really hard in the first two sectors," said Hutchinson, after a race held in perfect conditions.

"I lost a few seconds here and there after I ran into some backmarkers but I knew it would be the same for Michael."

Manxman Conor Cummins and 23-times winner John McGuinness made up the top five, with Lee Johnston and William Dunlop in sixth and seventh positions.

Leading contenders Peter Hickman and Bruce Anstey were among the retirements.