TT 2023: Peter Hickman dominates Superstock opener for 10th victory and draws level with Giacomo Agostini in hall of fame
Peter Hickman came out fighting to clinch a commanding victory in the opening RL360 Superstock race at the Isle of Man TT on Tuesday for his 10th win.
The race was delayed by three hours due to mist on the Mountain but it made no difference to Hickman, who led all the way in the three-lap showdown to seal a fourth consecutive win in the class ahead of Ulster’s Michael Dunlop.
Hickman is now level with fellow ten-time TT winners and motorcycling legends Giacomo Agostini and Stanley Woods after his latest triumph around the 37.73-mile course.
After twice finishing second to Dunlop in the first Supersport race and Sunday’s Superbike showpiece, Hickman responded in style to get off the mark at TT 2023.
The 36-year-old Louth man set the fastest lap of the race at 134.331mph on the third and final lap.
His winning margin after the 113.19-mile race was a huge 23.171s ahead of the Ballymoney rider, who chalked up his 35th podium in second place on the MD Racing Honda.
Dunlop was 14.8s clear of Bradford’s Dean Harrison on the DAO Racing Kawasaki, who finished third again after earning the same position in the Supersport and Superbike events.
Dunlop led Hickman by 0.6s at Glen Helen nine miles out on the first lap but when they reached Ballaugh, the positions were reversed, with Hickman 2.2s up.
The duo were evenly matched through the Sulby speed trap at 197mph but Hickman had extended his lead to 4.7s at the Bungalow.
An opening lap of 133.979mph gave Hickman a gap of 2.7s as they slowed for their sole pit-stop, with the FHO BMW rider losing some time over the Mountain after catching and attempting to find a way past Davey Todd (Milenco by Padgett’s Honda).
Hickman increased his cushion to 7.5s at Ballaugh on the penultimate lap over Dunlop, who was comfortably ahead of Harrison by 10 seconds.
Reining British Superstock champion Todd was fourth, 15.1s behind Harrison, with Conor Cummins – back in action after missing the first Supersport and Superbike races due to illness – in fifth on the Milenco by Padgett’s Honda.
Starting the final lap, Hickman was streets ahead, stretching his lead to 15.7s over Dunlop, with Harrison a safe third.
Cummins dropped to sixth as Jamie Coward (KTS Racing/Steadplan Honda) and James Hillier (OMG Yamaha) disputed fifth, with only 0.4s between them.
Hickman was on lap record pace on the last lap and closed out a spectacular win with a 134.331mph speed, which was just outside his 134.403mph lap record from 2018.
Dunlop brought his Honda home in second from Harrison, with Todd taking fourth.
Hillier overhauled Coward on the last lap for fifth, 23s back on Todd, while Cummins clinched seventh on his return to the track for the first time since last Wednesday’s qualifying sessions.
David Johnson (SMT Honda), Mike Browne (Burrows Engineering/RK Racing BMW) and Shaun Anderson (Team Classic Suzuki) were the top 10.
Waterford man Brian McCormack was 11th on the Roadhouse Macau by FHO Racing BMW, while Paul Jordan from Magherafelt was 16th (PreZ Racing Yamaha).
John McGuinness (Honda Racing UK) was a retirement on the Mountain on the last lap as he held eighth place.