Davey Todd scored his second victory of the week at the Isle of Man TT Races, winning a dramatic Milwaukee Senior by 39.084 seconds over Josh Brookes (Monster Energy BMW by FHO Racing), with Dean Harrison (Honda Racing UK) in third.
That only tells half the tale, as Brookes’ teammate Peter Hickman took the lead at the end of lap one, lapping at 135.523 mph. He was on track to set a new outright lap record when he crashed unharmed at Ginger Hall, while record 29-time winner Michael Dunlop (MasterMac Hawk Honda) retired on lap one.
Todd’s win marked TAS Racing’s first Senior triumph since Adrian Archibald in 2004, as well as their 21st TT victory overall.
With an evening start time of 6 p.m., conditions around the Mountain Course were the greatest they’d been all day, and Hickman led into Glen Helen on the first lap, barely a tenth ahead of Todd. Dunlop was 2.3 seconds behind Harrison in third place, with Brookes and James Hillier (WTF Racing Honda) rounding out the early top six, the latter only a second clear of John McGuinness (Honda Racing). Jamie Coward of KTS Racing withdrew from the race owing to an ongoing arm issue.
Hickman blasted down the stretch to Ballaugh, extending his advantage to 1.5 seconds, while Dunlop remained in third but was now more than four seconds behind the race leader. McGuinness had moved up to sixth place as James Hind soared to eighth on the North Lincs Components Suzuki.
By Ramsey, Hickman had extended his advantage by another second thanks to Ballaugh’s fastest sector time ever, and Todd was now six seconds ahead of Dunlop. Harrison was only two tenths of a second clear of Brookes in the battle for fourth, but drama ensued when Dunlop pulled into retirement shortly after the Bungalow.
Hickman’s opening lap of 135.23mph gave him a 2.7-second lead over Todd (135.159mph), with Brookes in third, lapping at 133.388mph. Harrison (132.976mph), Hillier (130.777mph), and Mike Browne (130.536mph) now occupy fourth to sixth place, with the latter finally setting his first 130mph lap on the IN Competition Aprilia, while McGuinness, Shaun Anderson (Team Classic Suzuki), Nathan Harrison (Honda Racing UK), and Dominic Herbertson (Burrows Engineering/RK Racing BMW) completed the top ten.
Hickman achieved another record sector time at the start of lap two, from the Grandstand to Glen Helen, extending his advantage over Todd to 4.8 seconds. The latter tried harder than ever, but Hickman’s blistering pace prevented him from making any progress against his deficit.
Over Ballaugh Bridge and another new record sector time, Hickman’s lead widened to 8.3 seconds, and it was evident the proverbial pin had been pulled. Can Todd respond?
We didn’t find out since Hickman didn’t make it to Ramsey, instead crashing at Ginger Hall, where he was thankfully alive and well. Todd now led Brookes by over twenty seconds, while Dean Harrison returned to the podium positions.
Todd’s lead remained at 18.6 seconds after a second lap of 134.789mph, but Brookes was flying with a new personal best lap of 134.056mph, becoming only the fifth rider to reach the 134-mph mark. Dean Harrison (132.445) was comfortably third, ahead of Hillier (132.068mph), the flying Browne (130.872mph), and McGuinness (130.901mph). All of the turmoil allowed Herbertson to pass Nathan Harrison, Rob Hodson (SMT Racing Honda), and Michael Rutter (Bathams Ales BMW) for seventh place.
Todd’s pit stop was about seven seconds faster than Brookes’, but the FHO Racing rider remained nearly ten seconds clear of Harrison when they approached Glen Helen for the third and penultimate time. Hillier appeared to be in control in fourth place, while Browne had pushed away from McGuinness, the Honda driver losing time in the pits, but Herbertson’s powerful ride ended in retirement at Crosby.
Todd was more than half a minute ahead and on his way to a famous victory when the fourth final lap began, and despite his massive lead, he pressed on, steadily expanding it. With a trouble-free last circuit, the 28-year-old brought the bike home 39 seconds ahead of Brookes, who finished second, his best TT result.
Dean Harrison finished comfortably third ahead of teammate Honda rider Hillier, and McGuinness won the race for fifth by seven seconds over the excellent Browne. Nathan Harrison finished seventh, his highest TT performance, and Anderson took eighth place, helped by a new personal best lap of 130.703mph, ahead of Rutter and Paul Jordan (Jackson Racing Honda).
