Dunlop wins cracking Entire Cover Supertwin TT

In a result that surprised precisely no-one, Michael Dunlop romped to the Entire Cover insurance Supertwin TT 2 this evening. The TT’s greatest of all time won by over 26 seconds to take a 33^rd career victory, but behind him there was plenty going on.

Second was Davey Todd. In itself that wouldn’t normally be a surprise, but the performance marked a massive turnaround from Tuesday’s two-lap Metzeler Supertwin TT, where he finished fifth on a Milenco by Padgett’s Motorcycles Paton that looked down on pace.

Todd pulled no punches after the race, feeling that his ‘customer’ Paton was not as fast as Dunlop’s factory run machine, but nevertheless was happy with the progress made, stating: “I rode the bike so hard. We were all super disappointed after the first race. Clive (Padgett, team owner) bought that Paton from the factory and it was supposed to be the same as Michael’s, but it most definitely wasn’t. I guess they didn’t want to give away all the secrets! Clive’s worked his butt off to develop that bike and improve it from the first race, and I pulled my finger out too. I thought I was riding hard enough in the first one, but I wasn’t. There are a lot of corners you can take flat out, that I didn’t know before! I’m grateful to the Milenco by Padgett’s team for giving me this opportunity and spending all that money on a bike that wasn’t what it was cracked up to be… and for working so hard to improve it! I’m super glad to stick it on the podium for them. We had no chance against Michael on that factory bike but I hung in as best as I could and the team did an excellent job in the pit stop (taking six seconds less than Dunlop’s crew).”

Tuesday’s race brought joy to many, not least podium debutants Mikey Evans and Rob Hodson, but they wouldn’t make it to the flag as they discovered the lows of Supertwin racing. Evans pulled out with mechanical issues at Glen Helen on the first lap, while Hodson broke down on lap two of the three lap race. The Wigan rider had settled into third and was looking good for a second podium when he slowed as he climbed out of the Gooseneck and headed onto the iconic Mountain section.

It left the final podium place wide open. The battle had already been intense throughout the race, with a gaggle of riders including Dominic Herbertson, Mike Browne and Adam McLean taking it to Hodson and all fancying their chances of spraying champagne over pit lane.

But one rider threw a real cat among the pigeons, with leader on the road Paul Jordan producing a miraculous ride to follow Dunlop after being passed on the final lap. MD produced a lap from the gods to set a new lap record of 123.056mph but Jordan held onto his slipstream and blasted to a personal best 121.899mph to leap up to fourth by the flag, just over three seconds behind Herbertson. The popular Geordie held on o make it three Patons on the podium, repeating a career best achieved in last year’s first Supertwin race. He said: “I love the Isle of Man. Seeing everyone getting involved and swinging out pit boards is what this place is all about. In that last lap I was praying to everyone and I am just over the moon. We’ve had five-and-a-half weeks to put this team together and I couldn’t have done it without the help of some close friends and even some strangers, who have donated through the GoFundMe page. To get on the box… I hope they are proud. To do it two years in a row is fantastic and proves it wasn’t a fluke!”

Jordan admitted that having no one to chase for the majority of the race, after choosing to run number one, probably handicapped him but it was an impressive performance regardless. Browne came home fifth ahead of the Yamahas of McLean and Baz Furber. Joe Yeardsley, Michal Dokoupil and Michael Sweeney completed the top 10, the trio all (like Jordan) mounted on Aprilia RS 660s.

But final words need to go to Dunlop, winner of the Entire Cover insurance Supertwin for the second year running. He said: “The main thing for me is winning races. Everyone says you need a Paton (to win the Supertwin TT) and all the other boys got a Paton and I am still at the front! The bike’s been good. We didn’t do too many laps and I backed off a bit to maintain the bike (to ensure reliability), so it was nice to get the lap record."