Dunlop Dominates Isle of Man Supersport Race 2

Ballymoney legend extends record breaking run with 32nd TT triumph and eighth consecutive class victory

Cool, blustery winds swept across the Isle of Man Mountain Course as the riders lined up for Race 2 of the Monster Energy Supersport action. From the drop of the flag at 1pm, the racing was fast and fierce. Harrison was ahead of Dunlop on the road but he was narrowly behind on the timesheets to Glen Helen by a mere 0.2 seconds, with Davey Todd only a tenth further back. James Hillier was in the mix too, just 0.048 back from Todd, kick-starting what looked to be a thrilling multi-rider battle. Todd passed Brookes on the road and immediately pulled away, with Josh seemingly unable to benefit from a slipstream the way he did in the first Supersport race.

By Ballaugh on the opening lap, Dunlop had nudged his lead out to 1.9 seconds, though it was now Todd who had slipped ahead of Harrison into second. The top four remained closely matched through the mid-section of the lap, with no more than a second separating second through fourth. Behind them, James Hind and Michael Evans held firm in fifth and sixth.

As the race wound its way to Ramsey Hairpin for the first time, Dunlop had extended his margin slightly to 2.8 seconds. Harrison had clawed back second by a tiny margin—just 0.01 seconds ahead of Todd. The Honda men were dicing even as they dealt with backmarkers, such as Paul Jordan, whom Harrison passed at Hillberry to take the lead on the road. At the Grandstand, Dunlop posted a rapid opening lap of 127.790mph, just 1.9 seconds ahead of Harrison, who had clocked 127.560mph. Hillier was now up to third with a 127.038mph lap, a slim 0.27 ahead of Todd. Hind and Brookes followed closely in fifth and sixth after an impressive climb from the latter, who had been tenth at Glen Helen.

The second lap began with Dunlop upping the tempo, and his Ducati thriving in the cool, gusty conditions. The torquey V2 engine showed superior straight-line speed to the Hondas, clocking over 177mph through the trap. At Glen Helen, his lead had grown to 4.8 seconds, with Hillier 6.1 back in third. Hillier and Todd were still locked in their own fight, less than a second separating them.

Midway through lap two, Hillier’s charge ended abruptly with a mechanical failure at Sarah’s Cottage, ending his quest for another TT podium and pushing Todd into third. Dunlop, meanwhile, had a moment coming out of Parliament Square but continued unfazed, hammering in the fastest sector times. By the time he reached the Bungalow, the lead was 13.3 seconds and growing.

As the Ducati tore through Cronk ny Mona, the gap had inflated to 15 seconds. Behind the leader, Brookes had moved up to fifth thanks to Hillier’s retirement and had set his sights on Jordan in fourth. With pit stops imminent, strategies came into play. Harrison and Jordan both came in for refueling but opted not to change tyres or visors. Dunlop also decided against any changes but suffered a minor hiccup as the Ducati was reluctant to fire up again, costing crucial seconds. His pit stop was ultimately completed in 52 seconds, two seconds slower than Harrison’s efficient 50-second halt. Todd, meanwhile, came in reporting that he had no rear brake.

Starting lap 3, Dunlop immediately set about offsetting his slower pit stop with pure speed. From the Grandstand to Glen Helen, he stretched his lead from 15 to 17 seconds, and at Ballaugh, it was up to 18.6. By Ramsey Hairpin, the buffer had swelled to 21 seconds, and he had Harrison in his sights on the road ahead — visual confirmation of his dominance.

Nothing was going to stop the Ballymoney ace now. In special yellow Ducati livery, he navigated the final lap with seasoned precision, crossing the finish line to take a staggering 32nd career TT victory and 49th podium, now 2 podiums ahead of John McGuinness.

Harrison rode steadily to take a secure second place despite grappling with technical niggles, notching up his fourth podium of the 2025 TT and his ninth consecutive podium in the class. Third went to Davey Todd, who met the challenge of riding without a rear brake with resilience and speed—no mean feat, especially given his tall frame which makes him less suited to the compact Supersport machines.

A battle raged just off the podium, where Paul Jordan grabbed an impressive fourth—his personal best Supersport finish—3.3 seconds clear of Hind, who took fifth ahead of Brookes in sixth. The Jackson Racing man had shown glimpses of pace, but admitted post race that he had acquiesced to to a Davey Todd request not to draft him in Race 2, costing him time. Further back, Dominic Herbertson, Mike Browne, Ian Hutchinson, and Michael Evans rounded out the top ten.

As the chequered flag flew and Dunlop returned to the winner’s enclosure, it marked yet another chapter in his ever-growing legend. Unbeaten in Supersport since 2019 and unquestionably the greatest TT rider of all time, Michael Dunlop continues to rewrite history at the Isle of Man.

Michael Dunlop – “It knew it was going to be difficult. I knew Dean would come out the blocks, but what i knew was I had to get my act together at the start of the race. I was right in the front at the start, so we had a lot less work to do. Once I got to the front, I had a bit of a nervy pit stop. She wouldn’t fire again. But the bike was mint—thanks to all the team, they worked last night to get it going and fair play to them. It was great. So I’d just like to thank the team and the sponsors, it’s not possible without them. And obviously with the livery – and for Ducati as well. It’s nice being back at the top and doing the double again.”

“We had a wee bit of a front end issue and knew what we were going to try, which was gonna sort of work, but it was windy out there and I didn’t really know if it was a wind thing or not, but we just kept going and happy to do the double—for the Ducati team and for my own team, and everybody else.”

“It’s a nice wee color scheme for today. It was out of the blue, so thanks to Luke, he was under pressure after the Northwest to get it stickered in time, but he got it stickered and done a mint job on it. I think it looks quite racy. So yeah, just something different, and obviously winning with different manufacturers is keen as mustard.”

2025 Isle of Man Supersport Race 2