TT 2016: Dunlop blitzes opposition with 131.5mph lap

Michael Dunlop made a huge statement on the third night of practice for this week’s Isle of Man TT, storming to a whopping 131.57mph lap in near perfect conditions.

Having broken down in the early stages yesterday, Dunlop was on a mission on Wednesday evening but it was John McGuinness who set the early pace with the first 130mph lap of the day (130.497mph) but was toppled shortly after by a flying Ian Hutchinson recording an average speed of 130.691mph.

After a 127mph lap from a standing start on his stocker, Dunlop went back out on the Superbike and after a 129mph standing start lap, he continued onto a flier and obliterated the competition by six seconds.

Hutchinson impressed as he jumped to his Superstock bike for the remainder of the session, powering to the fastest Stock time of the day and bettering the time he’d set on the Superbike with a 130.745mph.

Cummins was fourth fastest on his CBR1000RR ahead of Silicone Engineering’s Dean Harrison, who was the last man in the 129mph club for the evening.

Anstey took fourth with his first lap of the evening on the RCV, his second outing didn’t seem to go so well as he cruised back to just a 118mph average speed.

Lee Johnston topped the Supersport times on his Triumph 675 with a time of 123.397mph while most other big-named riders opted to keep their focus on the 1000cc machines.

All times unofficial

Superbike

1. Michael Dunlop – 131.574mph
2. Ian Hutchinson – 130.691mph
3. John McGuinness – 130.497mph
4. Conor Cummins – 129.764mph
5. Dean Harrison – 129.742mph
6. Bruce Anstey – 128.833mph
7. Steve Mercer – 128.672mph
8. James Hillier – 128.238mph
9. Peter Hickman – 127.883mp
10. Ivan Lintin – 126.748mph 

  Superstock

1. Ian Hutchinson – 130.745mph
2. Michael Rutter – 129.204mph
3. Michael Dunlop – 128.850mph
4. Peter Hickman – 127.738mph
5. James Hillier – 127.376mph
6. Gary Johnson – 127.014mph
7. Conor Cummins – 126.967mph
8. Steve Mercer – 126.758mph
9. John McGuinness – 125.742mph
10. Lee Johnston – 124.852mph

Supersport

1. Lee Johnston – 123.397mph
2. Michal Dokoupil – 121.534mph
3. Gary Johnson – 121.360mph
4. Jamie Coward -120.738mph
5. Ivan Lintin – 120.629mph
6. James Cowton – 120.628mph
7. Colin Stephenson – 120.620mph
8. Daniel Hegarty – 120.190mph
9. Robert Wilson – 119.777mph
10. Martin Jessopp – 119.768mph