Classic TT: Michael Dunlop says 130mph lap 'in me' after setting new outright record in Formula One race despite 'running out of fuel'
Michael Dunlop said a 130mph Classic TT lap is within his grasp after revealing he had to roll off the throttle on the final lap as he smashed Bruce Anstey’s nine-year-old lap record for victory in the Formula One race.
Dunlop was a massive 13 seconds faster than Anstey’s 2017 record of 127.496mph, which the Kiwi set on a Padgett’s Yamaha YZR500 Grand Prix bike.
Riding the Team Classic Suzuki GSX-R750, Dunlop raised the bar to 129.078mph, which he achieved despite slowing down on the third and last lap when he began to run out of fuel.
The 36-time Isle of Man TT winner won by 20.579s from Jamie Coward (Greenall Racing Kawasaki ZXR750), with Mike Browne completing the top three on the Electric Van Co/Steadplan Racing Kawasaki ZXR750, 6.945s further adrift.
Dunlop also set a new three-lap Classic TT race record in 53m 32.9s after 113.19 miles of racing, over one minute quicker than the previous 2022 record of 54m 32.1s.
Speaking afterwards, he said there could be more to come on the Suzuki in the Senior Classic TT on Tuesday.
“I just pulled out the shot there,” Dunlop said.
“The bike’s good, still a wee bit of a problem that we’ve worked at all week and we’ve been trying our best to maintain a wee issue.
“We’re getting there with it but on the last lap, we had to roll off because I started to run out of fuel coming down the Mountain.
“A bit of pressure was on but the boys did a good job and 129mph is steady enough.
“There’s 130mph in me if I can put it right so we’ll see what happens.
“Steve [Wheatman] at Team Classic Suzuki put a great bike underneath me and we’ve got something real good here, but we’ve still got some bits and pieces we need to work on.”