TT 2016: Ian Hutchinson cracks 130mph barrier to throw down gauntlet

Ian Hutchinson became the first rider to smash the 130mph barrier as the Bingley Bullet raised the bar higher with a blistering lap during the second practice session at the Isle of Man TT.
Ian Hutchinson set the first 130mph lap of the 2016 Isle of Man TT during practice on Tuesday on the Tyco BMW.Ian Hutchinson set the first 130mph lap of the 2016 Isle of Man TT during practice on Tuesday on the Tyco BMW.
Ian Hutchinson set the first 130mph lap of the 2016 Isle of Man TT during practice on Tuesday on the Tyco BMW.

The 36-year-old left it until the end of the session to power his Tyco BMW around the Mountain Course at 130.626mph to head the charts for the second evening in succession.

Hutchy was also fastest through the speed trap at Sulby on the S1000RR, clocking 196.8mph.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

On an excellent night for the 11-time TT winner, he also headed the Superstock times with a speed of 128.723mph.

In contrast, Ballymoney’s Michael Dunlop experienced misfortune when the 27-year-old – second quickest overall on Monday – stopped on his first lap on the Hawk Racing BMW.

Dunlop was forced to make his way back to the Grandstand, arriving in time to take his 600cc Yamaha machine out for two laps, the fastest of which was 123.170mph to leave him fifth in the Supersport standings.

Morecambe Missile John McGuinness was second fastest on the Superbike leaderboard on his Honda Fireblade at 129.618mph, with Peter Hickman third quickest on the JG Speedfit Kawasaki (129.550mph).

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

However, Ulsterman Dunlop remains second overall in the combined times following his standing-start lap of 129.670mph set on Monday.

Manx rider Conor Cummins posted his first 129mph lap of the week to slot into fourth with a speed of 129.169mph ahead of Dean Harrison (Silicone Engineering Kawasaki), who nudged 129.022mph.

Bruce Anstey continues to make eye-catching progress on the MotoGP-based Valvoline Padgetts Honda RC213V-S, clocking his best lap so far at 128.976mph on the V4.

Anstey seemed to ease off in the final sectors with the wily Kiwi perhaps unwilling to show his hand at this stage of practice week.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In the Superstock class, Michael Rutter was second quickest behind Hutchinson on the Bathams SMT BMW (128.429mph) with Hickman next at 127.305mph.

William Dunlop, who stopped at Quarterbridge on his first lap on the Yamaha R1, was eighth fastest on his MSS Kawasaki Superstock machine at 124.706mph.

Anstey set the pace in the Supersport class with a speed of 124.508mph to take the top spot from Harrison (124.207mph) and last year’s double 600cc winner Hutchinson, who lapped at 123.757mph on Keith Flint’s Came BPT Yamaha.

McGuinness went fourth fastest on the Jackson Honda at 123.505mph ahead of Michael Dunlop (123.170mph) and his older brother William (122.963mph).

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Lee Johnston was ninth fastest on the East Coast/Burdens Triumph at 121.885mph behind Aussie Cameron Donald on Wilson Craig’s Honda (122.036mph).

Last year’s winner Ivan Lintin led the way in the Lightweight session with a speed of 118.00mph on the Devitt RC Express Kawasaki from Martin Jessopp (114.871mph) and Italian rider Stefano Bonetti, who clocked 114.611mph on the Paton S1.

Former winner James Hillier was fourth quickest at 114.482mph.

Practice is set to continue on Wednesday evening from 6.20pm.