Isle of Man TT: Dunlop edges Hickman to complete Supersport double
- Published
Michael Dunlop sits five behind the record number of TT wins held by his uncle Joey
Michael Dunlop edged out Peter Hickman to complete an Isle of Man TT Supersport double in Friday's rescheduled race two.
Dunlop has now won a record nine Supersport TT races and his career tally stands at 21, five behind the all-time record held by his uncle Joey.
The Ballymoney rider fought out a thrilling battle with Hickman but won by 3.2 seconds in the end.
Dean Harrison was third, a further 21.3 seconds adrift of his compatriot.
The race had been scheduled to take place on Wednesday but was rearranged for Thursday because of adverse weather, before being rescheduled again for Friday because of rain and low mist.
Dunlop went into the race, which was reduced from four laps to two, level on eight Supersport wins with Ian Hutchinson but stamped his authority on proceedings in the early stages.
The Yamaha rider's advantage over Hickman at the conclusion of lap one was a mere 0.5 seconds but by the end of the second circuit his lead had increased to 3.2 seconds thanks to the fastest lap of the race - 128.536mph.
The race was run in windy conditions with damp patches around some parts of the 37.73-mile Mountain Course.
"I knew it was going to be hard with Peter and Dean riding so well," said Dunlop after the race.
"After the disappointment of retiring while battling for the lead in the Supertwins race, this makes up for it.
"I was fast out of the blocks and the bike was mint. I really gave it a go on the last lap."
Dunlop is now just two wins behind the 23 achieved by John McGuinness.
Davey Todd, Jamie Coward and Conor Cummins completed the top six leaderboard.
Lee Johnston, a Supersport victor in 2019, retired at the end of lap one.