Hot Todd takes first TT win
And Moly’s on the podium too!
Davey Todd was a popular winner of the first RL360 Superstock TT, gunning his Milwaukee BMW M 1000 RR to victory ahead of class specialist Peter Hickman. It was Todd’s first TT win and ended Hicky’s five race unbeaten run in the class.
The 29-year-old has been in terrific form this TT, really stepping up his pace to take the fight to the established ‘big three’ of Hickman, Michael Dunlop and Dean Harrison.
His win was no fluke, as all the big name riders completed the three-lap race without incident. In a close race which saw the top two separated by just a few seconds for the majority of the race, Todd headed home his fellow BMW rider by just over two seconds at the end of 113 miles of racing, with both men averaging over 132.6mph on their final lap of the 37.73-mile course.
The BMW riders seemed to have a small edge in Superstock trim. Dunlop led home no less than six Honda riders, with Harrison fourth and James Hillier fifth. Jamie Coward, John McGuinness and Conor Cummins, all riding the ubiquitous Honda Fireblade, completed the top eight.
“I am really struggling for words,” said an emotional Todd. The usually chatty Teessider was genuinely speechless before adding “It’s a dream. The Milwaukee BMW guys have shown faith in me and I love riding this Superstock bike. I feel so at home on it, which is why I’ve made the Superbike very similar.
To get that first one is special and to do it that way, battling with Hicky and Michael, is fantastic. We’ve been close but I wouldn’t say I felt it (the first win) was coming. Everyone is riding so well and the lap times are insane. It’s a tough time to be able to win a TT and that makes it all the sweeter.”
There was also plenty for the locals to cheer about as the Manx brothers Callum and Ryan Crowe completed a double in the Sidecars, with Ben Birchall and new passenger Kevin Rousseau second. One of the biggest cheers came for Dave Molyneux. The Manxman is the most successful sidecar driver in TT history, with 17 victories, and landed on the podium at the age of 60, passengered by 20-year-old Jake Roberts.
Thursday had been scheduled to be a rest day, but bad weather on Tuesday and Wednesday saw a planned three race schedule, with the delayed Sidecars and Superstocks set to take place along with the second Monster Energy Supersport TT, all races being cut by a lap.
A red flag on the Sidecar TT due to an outfit stranded on the track meant that race needed to be rerun, causing a delay, and with more rain late in the afternoon the Supersport TT has been pushed back to Friday, along with the second Superstock TT.
The Entire Cover Insurance Supertwin TT race two will now take place over two laps on Saturday morning, ahead of the TT-ending Milwaukee Senior TT, now over four laps, that afternoon.
