2013 Isle of Man TT Supersport Race 2 Results
Up until the 2013 Dainese Superbike TT, nobody beat John McGuinness in the Superbike class.
But Michael Dunlop completed this feat Sunday, taking his first-ever Superbike TT win, and fourth overall Isle of Man TT of his career. But Dunlop wasn’t done with his TT accomblishments; the 24-year-old Northern Irish rider then took the Supersport 1 and the Royal London 360 Superstock races on Monday.
And after a day of rest, Dunlop came back Wednesday afternoon to take his fourth Isle of Man TT race win of 2013, and the seventh of his career. This was following a close victory in the second Monster Energy Supersport race aboard his MD Racing Honda CBR600RR. With his win, Dunlop become only the third rider to win four races in a week (John McGuinness, Joey Dunlop).
Dunlop’s final lap was his fastest – a 128.677mph average around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course. He eventually finished over 2.3 seconds ahead of longtime race leader Bruce Anstey on the HM Plant Honda. Taking the final podium position was 19-time Isle of Man TT winner John McGuinness on the HM Plant/Padgetts Honda.
This was another clean sweep for Honda, including the opening Dainese Superbike TT.
Following is from the official report:
After a 15-minute delay due to a power failure in parc ferme, Anstey who, as he promised, was quickest out the traps but, as expected, it was close with Dunlop just 0.4 of a second behind.
Brother William was right in contention in third with the fast starting James Hillier again showing well on the run to Glen Helen. He occupied fourth with McGuinness and Dean Harrison close behind.
As the lap progressed, Anstey continued to extend his advantage and an opening lap of 126.476mph gave him a 3.5-second lead over Michael Dunlop with William almost three seconds further back in third. McGuinness was up to fourth now ahead of Guy Martin and Harrison.
The duo at the head of the field practically matched each other all the way round the second lap, but Anstey continued to lead, his lap of 127.817mph just a fraction outside Dunlop’s lap record from 2010.
The gap had crept up to 4.47 seconds with the Dunlops in second and third, McGuinness in fourth, Cameron Donald in fifth and Hillier still in sixth. However, the HM Plant/Padgetts crew got Anstey out from the pit stop in super quick time, his lead shooting up to nine seconds.
Dunlop knew he had work to do in the second half of the race and he made his charge immediately, reducing the deficit to 5.6 seconds at Glen Helen. Just as the gap between the top two was decreasing, so was the gap between William Dunlop and McGuinness for third with just 2.4 seconds between them with less than two laps to go. Donald was still in fifth with Hillier in sixth as, once again, the fans were treated to the leading five riders on the road circulating nose to tail.
Going into the final lap, Anstey still held sway by just over four seconds and he led on the road too but with Dunlop now having clear track, having passed McGuinness, Hillier and Donald, he ate into the gap at all of the timing points.
He hit the front for the first time at Ballaugh, his lead now 1.5 seconds but he had to work all the way to the checkered flag and it needed that sensational new lap record to see off the strong challenge of Anstey, the difference at the end of 150 miles of racing just 2.3 seconds. Dunlop’s race record was also a staggering 28 seconds inside the previous best.
For additional Isle of Man TT coverage, click here.
2013 Isle of Man TT Monster Energy Supersport Race 2 Results:
1. (6) Michael Dunlop, Honda/MD Racing: 01:11:52.091, 125.997
2. (5) Bruce Anstey, Honda/HM Plant Honda by Padgett: 01:11:54.404, 125.930
3. (3) John McGuinness, Honda/HM Plant Honda by Padgett: 01:12:35.882, 124.731
4. (11) William Dunlop, Yamaha/Milwaukee Yamaha Super: 01:12:36.849, 124.703
5. (2) Cameron Donald, Honda/Wilson Craig Racing: 01:12:46.450, 124.429
6. (1) James Hillier, Kawasaki/Quattro Plant Kawasaki: 01:13:11.759, 123.712
7. (14) Dean Harrison, Yamaha/Ian Bell Yamaha: 01:13:34.079, 123.086
8. (4) Guy Martin, Suzuki/Tyco Suzuki: 01:14:07.563, 122.159
9. (7) Gary Johnson, MV Agusta/Valmoto: 01:14:08.326, 122.139
10. (10) Conor Cummins, Yamaha/Milwaukee Yamaha Super: 01:14:40.951, 121.249
11. (9) Dan Stewart, Honda/SMT / Wilcock Racing: 01:14:50.777, 120.984
12. (43) Jamie Hamilton, Kawasaki/KMR Kawasaki Powered: 01:15:19.791, 120.207
13. (16) David Johnson, Triumph/Ace Cafe T3: 01:15:21.931, 120.150
14. (22) Robert Wilson, Kawasaki/Stoddart Racing Oban: 01:15:35.393, 119.794
15. (20) Ivan Lintin, Kawasaki/Taylor Lindsey: 01:15:40.712, 119.653
16. (28) Jamie Coward, Yamaha/Barnes Racing: 01:15:45.584, 119.525
17. (29) Lee Johnston, Honda/East Coast Construction: 01:15:47.229, 119.482
18. (18) Ben Wylie, Yamaha/Brenin Bikes / PerCup Cof: 01:16:00.514, 119.134
19. (33) Davy Morgan, Yamaha/CSC Racing: 01:16:16.148, 118.727
20. (19) Oliver Linsdell, Flitwick Yamaha/SMV Engineering: 01:16:18.257, 118.672
