Throttles pinned for Entire Cover Insurance Supertwin TT sprint

Two laps. No pitstops. One winner.

It might have been delayed due to some bad weather, but the Entire Cover Insurance Supertwin TT race two is finally set to head off down Bray Hill this afternoon.

Reduced from three laps to two, the second Supertwin TT is set to be a real sprint by TT standards, although at over 75 miles the competitors will still be covering the sort of distances covered in a MotoGP race. There will be no opportunity for the riders to bed themselves into things and no refuelling stop at the end of lap one to throw into the mix, making it a real dash for the cash.

We’ve already had a Supertwin TT as a guide and although the little bikes are known to throw up a surprise or two, Wednesday’s race largely went according to the form book with Michael Dunlop taking a comfortable win from Peter Hickman. Dominic Herbertson scored a popular third place, his first TT podium finish

Today’s race may throw up a few surprises. Asides from the reliability issues which often plague the highly tuned twins at the end of a fortnight’s racing, the weather hit programme sees a very condensed race schedule which sees the Entire Cover Insurance Supertwin TT sandwiched between the second Monster Energy Supersport TT and the blue riband Milwaukee Senior TT.

All things being equal, Dunlop will be favourite on his Paton. His win in the opening Supertwin TT took him onto a record 27 TT victories. He’s a real specialist in the class and, having just won the second Supersport TT earlier in the day, he’s on track to win three TTs in a day, which would take him to five in the week and a record stretching 30 outright. That’s a long way away, of course, but provides some additional motivation for the TT’s new GOAT.

Hickman’s Swan Yamaha hasn’t quite had the speed of the Patons but has been super reliable. With Hicky’s experience, he’s the man most likely to benefit should Michael or his machine stumble.

Beyond the big two, there’s a queue of riders who could potentially stand on the podium. Herbertson will be looking to end on a high after the disappointment of retiring from the earlier Supersport outing. Jamie Coward is another who will be seeing the Supertwins as his best chance of a podium. He’s not had a bad TT, but neither has it been the breakthrough he might have hoped for. Fourth in the first Supertwin outing was decent, but Coward should be capable fighting for the podium.

As well as these four, a host of pretenders should be capable of delivering PBs and picking up any pieces presented to them. Davey Todd hasn’t really gelled with the Dafabet Kawasaki but can never be ruled out, while the likes of Mike Browne, Rob Hodson and Pierre Yves-Bian should be looking to the ‘twins to provide their best result of this year’s races.

Others to look out for are veteran Michael Rutter, former British superbike champion Josh Brookes and local rider Joe Yeardsley. The 27-year-old local won the Senior Manx Grand Prix last year and has had a good TT debut, marking him out as a potential star of the future.

All will be decided in the next few hours. We can’t wait and look forward to a fast and safe Entire Cover Insurance Supertwin TT race two.