Smith’s BMW’s Peter Hickman put in a 135.452mph lap to overtake Dean Harrison to win the 2018 Senior TT this afternoon.

Hickman started the final lap with a near four second deficit to Harrison which went out to 5.742 at Ballaugh but Hickman got the hammer down to pull the gap back to two seconds at Ramsey and then led at the Bungalow 0.834s.

Harrison crossed the line with an outright lap record of 134.918 but it only lasted 46s as Hickman set his 135.452mph lap for a two-second victory after six laps of the 37.73-mile circuit. He also set a 16’42.778s race record.

“What a tough race. Wow. Massive credit to Dean Harrison. He was so fast on the first two sectors, so I kept losing time there, but I knew I could eat it back over the mountain and the later part of the course. I am so happy for everyone,” said Hickman in parc ferme.

“I can’t thank the team and the sponsors enough. Smith’s BMW has given me a mega bike; she’s just sweet as a nut over that second half of the circuit. I knew it was all going to come down to that last lap and I had lost a little time due to backmarkers. But what an awesome end to such an emotional TT.”

Conor Cummins rode to a solid third place on the Padgetts Honda for his second big-bike podium of the week but finished 1’40s behind the leaders, which gives you some idea of Hickman and Harrison’s pace.

Michael Dunlop struggled for the whole race and couldn’t make any headway. The Tyco BMW man finished 54s behind Cummins while Josh Brookes grazed the 132mph mark with his last lap, putting in a personal best 131.745 to grab fifth place on the Norton.

From the off, it looked like three-horse race Cummins out of the top five at Glen Helen on lap one while James Hillier and David Johnson were three seconds behind. Hillier retired the JG Speedfit Kawasaki at Westwood which brought Cummins into the reckoning.

Dunlop began to slip backwards at Ramsey, dropping eight seconds behind Harrison and it was ten seconds at the Bungalow with an opening lap of 131.810 compared to Harrrison’s 133.678. Johnson retired the Gulf BMW at the grandstand which promoted Brookes to fifth place.

From lap two, it was a two-pony affair as Cummins was 14.651s off the pace at Glen Helen on lap two as the gap between Harrison and Hickman yo-yo’d. Harrison was faster to Ramsey while Hickman had the pace over the mountain and back down to Douglas.

That was the story of the race until the end of lap four when Hickman pulled the gap from 5.477s at Glen Helen to 1.402 at the Grandstand with a 134.345mph lap. As they went out to Glen Helen again on lap five, Hickman’s slower pitstop and Harrison’s pace meant there was a 6.267s gap but, as with the previous lap, it was back to 1.903s at the grandstand, where Michael Rutter retired the Bathams BMW.

Harrison put in a sector record on the run from Douglas to Glen Helen on the final lap to open a 3.738s while Hickman dealt with traffic and it was 5.742s at Ballaugh Bridge. However, Hickman set a sector record from the Bridge to Ramsey and it was a 2.007s advantage.

By the Bungalow, Hickman had grabbed the lead by 0.834s which he extended to 2.061s at the grandstand as he became the fastest road racer in the world as he eclipsed the Ulster Grand Prix record too.

Sam West retired out of sixth place which promoted Gary Johnson to seventh on the RAF Reserves Kawasaki. Martin Jessopp bagged seventh with Jamie Coward next along. Davey Todd finished his TT week as the second faster newcomer in history with ninth pace and Brian McCormack completed the top ten.

Craig Neve, Michael Sweeney, Daley Mathison, Rob Hodson and Danny Webb rounded out the top 15.

2018 Pokerstars Senior TT results

1 10 Peter Hickman BMW / Smiths Racing BMW 01:43:08.065 131.700 Silver
2 5 Dean Harrison Kawasaki / Silicone Engineering 01:43:10.126 131.656 Silver
3 1 Conor Cummins Honda / padgettsmotorcycles.com 01:44:50.559 129.554 Silver
4 6 Michael Dunlop BMW / Tyco BMW 01:45:45.315 128.436 Silver
5 11 Joshua Brookes Norton / Norton Motorcycles 01:46:09.904 127.940 Silver
6 7 Gary Johnson Kawasaki / RAF Regular & Reserves Kawa 01:47:06.818 126.807 Silver
7 12 Martin Jessopp BMW / Riders Motorcycles BMW 01:47:58.408 125.798 Silver
8 16 Jamie Coward BMW / Team Penz13.com BMW Motorrad 01:48:27.787 125.230 Bronze
9 80 Davey Todd* Suzuki / Burrows Engineering Racing 01:49:00.059 124.612 Bronze
10 32 Brian McCormack BMW / Vanfleet Transport 01:49:04.383 124.529 Bronze
11 33 Craig Neve BMW / Jackson Academy 01:49:34.789 123.953 Bronze
12 28 Michael Sweeney BMW / MJR Racing 01:50:10.011 123.293 Bronze
13 26 Daley Mathison BMW / Eddie Stobart Racing 01:50:21.707 123.075 Bronze
14 44 Rob Hodson BMW / JGH Racing 01:50:30.453 122.913 Bronze
15 48 Danny Webb BMW / Penz13 BMW by PSi Leathers 01:50:40.735 122.723 Bronze
16 46 Andrew Dudgeon BMW / Team Slick Performance Racing 01:51:03.962 122.295 Bronze
17 30 Stefano Bonetti Paton / Speed Motor 01:51:15.745 122.079 Bronze
18 52 Raul Torras Martinez Yamaha / Martimotos.com Racing 01:51:29.556 121.827 Bronze
19 51 Mike Booth Kawasaki / Fast Bikes Magazine 01:51:36.360 121.703 Bronze
20 45 Barry Lee Evans Suzuki / PRF Racing 01:51:49.518 121.464 Bronze
21 21 Ian Lougher Suter / Suter Industries 01:52:26.026 120.807 Bronze
22 75 Frank Gallagher Kawasaki / 8 Point 8 Racing 01:52:52.815 120.329 Bronze
23 53 Adrian Harrison Kawasaki / SJK Travel2airport.com 01:53:04.443 120.123 Bronze
24 56 Julien Toniutti BMW / Team 2B - Moraco / Martimotos / B 01:53:35.386 119.578
25 65 Mark Goodings Kawasaki / Pennine stone Ltd 01:53:45.901 119.393
26 37 Michael Evans BMW / Wilcock Consulting 01:53:51.826 119.290
27 58 Allann Venter Suzuki / Cookstown Burrows Engineering S 01:53:52.802 119.273
28 59 David Hewson BMW / Obsession Engineering Ltd 01:53:55.614 119.224
29 81 Ian Pattinson BMW / Weardale Racing 01:54:16.701 118.857
30 47 Barry Furber Kawasaki / BMF Racing / Moto-Design 01:54:19.727 118.805
31 71 Davy Morgan BMW / DM71 01:54:28.777 118.648
32 49 Darren Cooper BMW / NW Racing 01:54:36.158 118.521
33 79 David Jackson* BMW / The People's Bike 01:54:39.243 118.468
34 55 Eric Wilson BMW / Obsession Engineering Ltd 01:54:48.229 118.313
35 60 Charles Rhys Hardisty BMW / The People's Bike 01:55:19.189 117.784
36 74 George Spence Yamaha / Dod Spence Racing 01:55:30.610 117.590
37 54 Xavier Denis Honda / Optimark Road Racing Team 01:55:37.993 117.465
38 63 Tom Weeden Honda / Tom Weeden Racing 01:56:10.375 116.919
39 70 Paul Potchy Williams BMW / Potchy's MOT Station 01:56:12.487 116.883