2016 Isle of Man TT Wednesday Practice Results, June 1
For the first two days of 2016 Isle of Man TT Superbike practice, Tyco BMW’s Ian Hutchinson impressed. He posted the quickest times, with a 129.964mph on Monday, and a 130.626mph on Tuesday.
Not bad for the 11-time TT winner – especially since it is his debut IOMTT on the S1000RR. “Hutchy” once again broke the 130mph mark Wednesday during qualifying for the RST Superbike race, the Brit posting a best lap of 130.691mph on lap two.
But he wasn’t the quickest; Hawk Racing BMW’s Michael Dunlop, who just missed the top time Monday and suffered a breakdown Tuesday, earned the fastest lap with a 131.574mph; Dunlop was the first to break the 131mph mark so far. This was redemption for the 11-time TT winner Dunlop, the nephew of the late Joey Dunlop who holds the record of most TT wins with 26. And it all occurred after an 11-minute delay on the 37.73-mile Mountain Course due to strong winds on the Mountain section.
The only other rider to break the 130mph mark after three days of 2016 IOM TT practice was 23-time TT winner John McGuinness. The Honda Racing CBR1000RR SP Fireblade pilot posted a quickest average lap of 130.497mph to earn third quickest in RST Superbike qualifying Wednesday. Following closely was McGuinness’ teammate Conor Cummins (129.764) and Silicone Engineering Kawasaki’s Dean Harrison (129.740).
Rounding out the top 10 were Bathams BMW’s Michael Rutter (129.163); Valvoline Racing by Padgett’s Motorcycles Honda’s Bruce Anstey (RC213V-S, 128.833); Jackson Racing Honda’s Steve Mercer (128.672); Quattro Plant Muc-Off Kawasaki’s James Hillier (128.238); and East Coast Construction BMW’s Lee Johnston (128.092).
Michael Dunlop also showed promise during RL360 Quantum Superstock qualifying, posting a quickest lap of 128.850mph aboard his MD Racing BMW S1000RR. But this would only earn him third; Dunlop would have to settle behind two other BMW S1000RRs – the leading Tyco BMW piloted by Hutchinson (130.745) and Bathams SMT Racing BMW’s Michael Rutter (129.204).
Three Kawasaki’s qualified in the 4-6 spots: Silicone Racing’s Dean Harrison; GBmoto Racing’s Peter Hickman; and Quattro Plant Muc-Off Kawasaki’s James Hillier.
Rounding out the top 10 in RL360 Superstock qualifying were Team Penz13.com’s Gary Johnson (127.014); Padgett’s Motorcycles Honda’s Conor Cummins (126.967); Jackson Racing Honda’s Steve Mercer (126.758); and Devitt RC Express Racing Kawasaki’s Ivan Lintin (126.748). As for Bet Victor Honda’s John McGuinness, he finished 11th with a 125.742mph.
In Monster Supersport qualifying, East Coast Construction Triumph’s Lee Johnston was quickest with a 123.397mph, followed by Motopoint Indi Racing Team Yamaha’s Michal Dokoupil (121.534) and Team T3 Racing Triumph’s Gary Johnson (121.360).
The IOMTT reports that newcomer speeds continued to improve, once again led by Jochem van den Hoek. The Dutchman lapped at 116.50mph, the fastest newcomer lap of the week. But Alessandro Polita and Seamus Elliott were both above the 113mph mark. Also, Forrest Dunn, Michael Booth and Josh Daley all above 111mph, with Daley’s time set on his Supersport machine.
Qualifying continues Thursday across all classes, the action beginning at 6:20 p.m. local time.
For additional information on the 2016 TT, visit the Ultimate MotorCycling Isle of Man TT page.
Photos by Wayne Freestone
Watch Video of Hutchy!
2016 Isle of Man TT Qualifying – Wednesday Results | Photo Gallery
