Honda Racing’s Dean Harrison has dominated qualifying for the Superbike, Superstock and Senior races, immediately throwing down the gauntlet to his rivals in first qualifying and incrementally improving his lap times throughout the week.
The Yorkshire rider posted a lap speed of 133.925mph on his Honda Fireblade Superbike to record the fastest-ever circuit of the Mountain Course in an opening qualifying session, having gone just marginally slower on his first standing start lap.
The 37-year-old bettered that on Friday with 134.877mph in cooler and windy conditions, firmly establishing him as a firm pre-race favourite for the Superbike and Senior races.
Peter Hickman was second fastest on the qualifying leaderboard on his 8TEN Racing BMW with 132.712 and looks likely to be one of the main challengers to Harrison if the continuing problems he is experiencing with nerve damage to his shoulder as a result of a practice crash at last year’s meeting do not prove overly prohibitive.
Australian Josh Brookes is the fifth fastest rider ever around the circuit and looks to be well in the mix for podium finishes this year after circulating third fastest in qualifying on his DAO Racing Honda.
The two-time British Superbike champion has a best finish of second in the Senior race in 2024 so will look to emulate that achievement in some of the ‘big bike’ outings.
After much speculation about which machinery he would campaign, Michael Dunlop opted to ride a Hawk Racing Honda in the Superbikes and despite some problems in practice, the record 33-time winner has got faster as the week progressed and can never be discounted for a victory.
Harrison was a double winner in the Superstock category 12 months ago and practice form would indicate that he is in a strong position to add to his career tally of five wins in that class also.
While his best lap time was some 16 seconds faster than his nearest challenger in Superbike qualifying, the now Isle of Man-based rider had almost 27 seconds to spare over BMW-mounted Dunlop, who was second in the qualifying standings in Superstocks.
Harrison’s speed to top the timesheets was 135.484 and he will take all the catching for the two scheduled three-lappers in that class.
Brookes was again well to the fore with the third quickest time, with a host of riders behind him all capable of vying for rostrum places.
Those include Ian Hutchinson, Nathan Harrison, Jamie Coward, Mike Browne, David Johnson, Paul Jordan, Dominic Herbertson and 23-time victor John McGuinness, still competing 30 years after making his TT debut.
