Southern 100: Runaway Senior race winner Dean Harrison has 'more pace' to come after perfect start
Dean Harrison says he has “more pace” to come at the Southern 100 after stamping his authority on the opening race of the 2026 meeting at Billown on the Isle of Man.
Harrison, who qualified on pole, was a runaway winner of the Peel Holdings Senior race, setting a new lap record at 115.757mph on his Honda Racing Fireblade and sealing victory by over 10 seconds from Nathan Harison and Peter Hickman.
This year’s Superbike and Senior TT winner said Wednesday’s dry and sunny conditions around the 4.25-mile Billown course were among the best he has ever raced in at the event.
“We tried a few little things and tested a few bits tyre-wise and learned a lot to be honest, which is good,” Harrison told Manx Radio.
“The bike felt fine, never missed a beat and we can improve for later on.
“There’s more pace in there I think, so like I say we’re trying a few little things with the bike and experimenting a little bit really; the sun’s shining and the Southern’s the closest [course] you can get to the TT really.
“The conditions out there are beautiful to be honest, the sun’s shining and it’s probably the best conditions we’re nearly ever had here, but the sun always shines at the Southern doesn’t it, so it’s nice,” he added.
“I’ve got a few little things to tweak for later on, I won’t go into too much detail, but we’ve definitely got some changes coming and then we’ll have another go later.”
Roads are scheduled to close again from 18:00 BST for a five-race programme on Wednesday evening.