2023 Isle of Man TT Supertwin: Dunlop back on top with race two victory

After missing out in the Superstock race Michael Dunlop immediately returned to his dominant best for Supertwin victory.

Lisa Lewis

06 Jun 2023

IOMTT, Isle of MAn TT, 2023, Supertwin, race1. Dunlop, Browne, Coward

Michael Dunlop made it win 24 with a performance that saw his rivals left for dust in the first Supertwin race at the Isle of Man TT, bringing the third day of race action to a close.

Update: It was announced early in the evening, after the race, in a statement from the TT organisers that Spanish rider Raul Torras Martinez sadly passed away following an accident at Alpine, between the 16th and 17th mile markers on the final lap of the race.

Raul Torras Martinez was the most successful Spanish rider in road racing at the Isle of Man - the fastest from his country to lap the TT course. Having made his debut in the competiton in 2017 he achieved a best of 15th last season in the Supertwin race, competing in 21 TT races and earning 18 Bronze Replicas in the sport. Raul was competing in his 5th TT.

After qualifying for he race with the best time it was always going to be hard to beat seasoned road racer Dunlop.

Aboard the Paton for his very own MD Racing team, he was soon at the front and racing riders that had left before him, with his advantage at over nine secoonds by the time he reached the Ramsey hairpin for the first time. That lead to a huge 26.783s lead over the finish, with a wait to see who would be second.

It is Dunlop’s third win of the meet after missing out to Peter Hickman in the earlier Superstock race, pulling him one closer to his uncle Joey’s record of 26 wins, following a new race record. It is also the fifth win in a row in Supertwin for Paton machinery.

Tense battle for second plays out behind

Jamie Coward was close to Dunlop on track, but it was a late attack from the man who launched his charge 15th - Mike Browne which stole the show, and second.

With around two minutes between the duo stating there was an anxious wait at every sector to see who would lead and often it was incredibly close - the split at Balalugh Bridge on the final lap of three had Coward’s KTS Racing Kawasaki back ahead by just 0.011s.

It was Browne, however, who knuckled down and made up the difference to take charge of the final sectors on his Burrows Engineering Paton to be second to Dunlop, pulling out a small 2.237s gap of his win over his rival.

It was all change in the top three with no Dean Harrison in the race and Hickman off the Rostrum - with Browne securing his first ever TT podium.

Hickman had a less fancied Yamaha and his own PHR Performance team. Needing to seek permission to race, which was granted by completing laps in warm-up after issues in qualifying, the BSB regular was fairly happy with fourth.

Fellow BSB rider Josh Brookes was a late addition to the Dafabet Racing Kawasaki team, and despite limited time with the bike the Australian got to work and ran tidy lines around the mountain to pick up fifth, putting pressure on Hickman all the way.

French rider Pierre Yves Bian pushed his VAS Engine/Laser Scanning Patron to sixth, with Dominic Herbertson, the first rider released, soon losing the clear air in front of his bike to faster riders, but doing enough to hold seventh for John M Patterson Ltd/CC engineering Kawasaki.

Road Racing legend Michael Rutter had issues in the compulsory pit stop and needed to get his bike re-started and back on track. His experience saw him calm despite the problem with the Banthams Ales Yamaha, still finishing a credible eighth.

Early exits from the top ten for the Italian Team ILR duo of Stefano Bonetti and Francesco Curinga left the door open for the final top ten spots with Baz Furber (DC Auto Repairs Yamaha) and Rob Hodson (SMT/KH Commercials Kawasaki) stepping up for ninth and tenth respectively.

Michael Russell is aiming to compete in all ten races of the TT meet. He remains on track with a 13th place finish.

First time TT Supertwin rider Jack Petrie finished the race, an achievement in a sea on DNF and DNS results, placing 29th.