Friday, November 22, 2024

Isle of Man TT 2024: Todd wins dramatic Senior TT; Dunlop, Hickman DNF

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Todd took his maiden TT win earlier this week when he beat Hickman to victory in the only Superstock race of the 2024 event aboard his TAS Racing BMW.

FHO Racing BMW rider Hickman and the reigning Senior TT champion led the opening lap and was on lap record pace on the second tour when he crashed out unhurt at Ginger Hall.

This released Todd, who was running second, into a commanding lead after Michael Dunlop’s quest for 30 TT victories ended in retirement on lap one while he was running third.

Todd came under no challenge as the four-lap race wore on, with the Englishman securing TAS Racing’s first Senior TT win since 2004.

Double British Superbike champion Josh Brookes scored a first big bike race podium at the TT and the second of his career in second on the sole-remaining FHO BMW, while Honda’s Dean Harrison was a distant third.

So dominant was Todd’s march to victory that he ended up leading on the road as well as corrected time, after the #8 starter overhauled Harrison on lap three.

Despite winning the Superbike TT last Sunday, Hickman largely struggled on that spec of BMW until late drama struck Dunlop and Todd.

Davey Todd, TAS Racing BMW

Photo by: iomtt.com

But from the off in the four-lap Senior TT finale, Hickman came out of the blocks swinging as he led Todd by 0.1 seconds through Glen Helen on lap one.

Hickman grew this to 1.5s through Ballaugh and got it up to 2.6s as he flashed across the start/finish line to start lap two clocking a 135.523mph effort from a standing start.

The FHO BMW rider was on pace to smash his 136.358mph lap record on the second tour and led by 8.3s through the Ballaugh sector split.

But at Ginger Hall just before the Ramsey sector split, Hickman crashed out. He was reported as ok.

Todd thus found himself 19.8s in the lead over Brookes and eased away to a winning margin of 39.084s.

Brookes ran comfortably in second through to the chequered flag, with Harrison ending TT 2024 on the podium in third on the factory Honda.

Having won twice already on Saturday, all-time TT win leader Dunlop could have scored a 30th victory.

Josh Brookes, FHO Racing BMW, Superbike, TT 2024

Josh Brookes, FHO Racing BMW, Superbike, TT 2024

Photo by: Isle of Man TT

But the fastest rider in last Sunday’s Superbike race looked off-colour from the start, clicking through Glen Helen on lap one 2.4s off the lead and continuing to lose time.

At Hailwood Heights on the mountain section, Dunlop pulled out with a technical issue on the first lap.

James Hillier was fourth on the WTF Honda ahead of John McGuinness on the Honda, while Mike Browne broke the 130mph barrier for the first time in sixth on his Aprilia.

Nathan Harrison was seventh on the third of the works team Honda bikes, while Shaun Anderson was demoted to eighth due to a 30s time penalty. Michael Rutter and Paul Jordan completed the top 10.

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