Brookes flies to fourth in TT Superbike opener

Dean Harrison broke through for his first Isle of Man Superbike TT victory, while Josh Brookes delivered a 133.819mph lap to finish fourth

Dean Harrison scored his maiden Superbike TT win at the Isle of Man, also taking his career total at the event to six victories. The result puts him alongside iconic names such as Jimmy Guthrie, Geoff Duke, John Surtees, Jim Redman and sidecar passenger Chas Birks. Harrison also recorded the fastest lap of the race at 134.892mph.

He made the early running, reaching Glen Helen first on lap one with a 4.8 second lead over Michael Dunlop. Peter Hickman was third, just over half a second further back. Josh Brookes, on the DAO Racing Honda, held fourth, 3.1 seconds behind Hickman and 0.75 seconds ahead of John McGuinness on the Honda Racing UK machine. Ian Hutchinson sat sixth, less than a second behind McGuinness, with only three seconds covering fifth through 14th.

By Ballaugh, Harrison had stretched the lead to 7.3 seconds after a rapid section from Glen Helen that was only 0.75 seconds shy of the outright best. Dunlop and Hickman remained close in second and third, split by just 0.752 seconds. Brookes and McGuinness stayed fourth and fifth, while Nathan Harrison had climbed to sixth.

At Ramsey for the first time, Harrison had added another half second to his advantage. He and Dunlop were almost evenly matched from Ballaugh, but Hickman had lost a little ground and was now 1.9 seconds behind Dunlop. There was also a change in sixth, with Mike Browne moving ahead of Nathan Harrison.

Harrison kept increasing the pressure over the Mountain, and his opening lap of 134.892mph gave him a 12 second lead over Dunlop, who lapped at 133.297mph. Hickman, at 133.175mph, was less than a second behind Dunlop after making up time on the descent. Brookes remained fourth, now 7.7 seconds behind Hickman.

McGuinness, running a special livery that paid tribute to his first TT in 1996, stayed fifth and held a 4.7 second margin over Hutchinson. Browne, Nathan Harrison, Jamie Coward and David Johnson completed the top 10, while Dominic Herbertson retired after stopping at Hillberry on the KTS Racing by Stanley Stewart BMW.

Harrison did not ease off on lap two. At Glen Helen, his lead had grown to 15.2 seconds over Dunlop, while the gap between Dunlop and Hickman in the fight for second was just 1.2 seconds. Harrison added another two seconds on the road to Ballaugh, and by the second visit to Ramsey the Honda rider’s lead was out to 20.2 seconds.

At that point Hickman had moved into second as Dunlop lost time while trying to find a way past Nathan Harrison, dropping 1.3 seconds behind. By the Bungalow, that gap had been cut again to just 0.388 seconds. Harrison’s second lap of 134.765mph gave him a healthy 24.3 second lead at one-third distance. Dunlop, with a 133.143mph lap, reclaimed second by only 0.293 seconds from Hickman, who posted 133.227mph. Brookes and McGuinness continued in fourth and fifth with seven seconds between them, while Hutchinson remained sixth.

Harrison’s lead passed 30 seconds for the first time at Glen Helen on lap four. Even then, the battle for second and third remained fierce, with the gap between Hickman and Dunlop at 0.784 seconds there and 0.750 seconds at Ballaugh. At the end of lap four, Harrison came in for his second stop after a 134.120mph lap with a 33 second lead. Dunlop, at 133.808mph, was still second, only 0.6 seconds ahead of Hickman, who lapped at 133.409mph.

Brookes was 46 seconds behind the leader in fourth, but McGuinness had reduced the gap to 5.2 seconds. The fight for sixth was also close, with Coward just 3.1 seconds clear of Hutchinson, both riders lapping above 130mph. Nathan Harrison, Browne and Cummins continued in eighth, ninth and 10th.

A quick pit stop from Hickman cut Harrison’s lead to 29 seconds and, more importantly, moved him two seconds back ahead of Dunlop. McGuinness also gained ground in the pits, the 23-time TT winner reducing the gap to Brookes to just 1.3 seconds. Even 16 miles later at Ramsey Hairpin, the margin was still only 1.5 seconds.

Starting the sixth and final lap, Harrison’s lead over Hickman was still more than 26 seconds. He was able to manage the closing stages and took the chequered flag 15.5 seconds clear. Hickman completed a superb comeback from injury to finish second, setting a final lap of 134.587mph. Dunlop, with 133.933mph, completed the podium, 12.4 seconds behind Hickman.

Brookes, with a 133.819mph lap, eventually pulled 19.5 seconds clear of McGuinness to secure fourth. The battle for sixth went right to the finish, with Hutchinson, at 132.200mph, edging Coward by just 1.2 seconds. Nathan Harrison, Browne and Paul Jordan completed the top 10, with Jordan recording his first 130mph TT lap on the final lap at 130.656mph.

Outside the top 10, several riders posted personal best laps, including Marcus Simpson with 128.312mph in 16th, Michael Sweeney with 127.684mph, Erno Kostamo with 127.207mph, Mitch Rees with 127.082mph, AJ Venter with 127.357mph and Jamie Cringle with 127.334mph.

Josh Brookes

2026 ISLE OF MAN RST SUPERBIKE RACE