Isle of Man TT Daily Update - Saturday 1 June 2024

Supersport and Sidecar Race One

Michael Dunlop put his name firmly in the motorsport history books and the road racing hall of fame by winning the opening IoM TT race of 2024, the Supersport race. He now sits on 26 wins, the same number held by his late uncle, Joey Dunlop and has seven more races at this meeting to become the undisputed king of road racing.

The fans appreciated Michael Dunlop’s win and the racing, which was close, especially in the early stages. Dean Harrison took the early lead with Davey Todd hot on his heels. Harrison caught up with Jamie Coward who had started 10 seconds ahead of him and a battle ensued between the Triumph Street Triple of Coward and the Honda CBR600RR of Harrison. Down on top speed compared to the Triumph, the Honda looked to be better in the corners only for the Triumph to drift past the Honda on the straights.

This battle allowed #8 Todd and Dunlop to close the gap, and with Dunlop taking the lead on lap two, the racing at this stage was close with the lead swapping between the top three. Coward and Harrison came into the pits together. Coward left the pits and flipped the pit lane limiter back to race only for his engine to die. His day was done and Coward retired. Harrison had a clean pit stop and now a clear road but the damage had been done.

The pit stop on lap three went well for Dunlop and he managed the final three laps to extend his lead when Todd and Harrison tried to reduce the gap. When the chequered flag fell Todd was second, and set the fastest ever lap by a Ducati around the Mountain Course at 128.785mph. Harrison added to his TT podium haul to 27 coming in third.

In the sidecar race it was local lads Ryan and Callum Crowe gracing the top step for the very first time at the TT. With nearly 30 seconds to spare at the flag from Pete Founds/Jevan Walmsley in second and Alan Founds/Rhys Gibbons taking third, it was a comprehensive win for the Crowes. 

World sidecar champions Ellis/Clement at their first IoM TT came in seventh. Passenger Clement became the fastest female passenger around the Mountain Course and posted a very competitive 113.786mph.

Unsung Heroes 

Michael Russell’s start to the Isle of Man TT ten race challenge hasn’t gone according to plan. Eight miles into the first race the Kawasaki ZX-636-R dropped a valve and Jack had to pull in and retire from the race. Getting a lift from the course car, Jack headed back to the paddock where Vicky Cook was waiting for him with the Frog Vehicle Developments Suzuki LCR sidecar.

The bad luck fairies had the ten race challenge team firmly fixed in their sights. The regulator rectifier on the Suzuki LCR decided that the start line was the ideal place to throw the towel in. With eight races left let us hope that’s all the bad luck gone from team 10 race challenge. We can only wish them better luck for the rest of the week

Our second Unsung Hero, Matt Stevenson, wasn’t out in the Supersport race but did get a few laps in on Dafabet Racing Kawasaki ZX-10RR ZXT02N in the morning final qualifying, so we are following another racer for the Supersport class.

The PistonClick team have been lurking around the paddock in their down time and got chatting to Craig Szczypek. Craig is running a Kawasaki ZX-10R ZXT02M in the Superstock, Kawasaki ZX-636-R in the Supersport and a Yamaha R7 in the Supertwin class, all sponsored by Manor Flooring and Oxman Carpentry. 

Qualifying in 62 and second to last place, Craig on the ZX-636-R headed off down Bray Hill on his first IoM TT 2024 race just before three on a sunny Saturday afternoon. An hour and twenty one minutes later in 48th place Craig crossed the finish line. His first race was done and a hard earned finisher’s medal secured.