TT 2016: Hutchinson forced to settle for second

Ian Hutchinson was left to settle for second in today’s RST Superbike TT after losing a considerable amount of time to eventual race winner Michael Dunlop in the pits.

The BMW duo traded the fastest lap times throughout practice week to become clear favourites for Saturday’s opening race, but Hutchinson had little left for Dunlop after he doubled his lead following the first pit stop on lap two.

Accepting he’d struggle to reel Dunlop in, Hutchinson moved his focus to getting a feel for his S1000RR Superbike ahead of Friday’s Senior TT and in doing so recorded his fastest ever Superbike lap of the TT course – 132.737mph.

“I knew the first race on the BMW was going to be hard to beat Michael,” he said. “I tried to be as calm and smooth as I could at the start so to be minus seven seconds at the end of the first lap I was quite happy. I caught John at Parliament square and it took me a long time to pass him, I followed his pace all the way through and then when I got in front I lost my rhythm. I don’t know if we lost time in the pits but I went from being seven seconds back to 15 by Glen Helen and that was the end of my race. I had another good go in the last two laps to get some feeling for next Friday but I’ve got to be happy enough as I’ve gone faster than I’ve ever been.”