Pre-race favourite Peter Hickman lived up to all the expectations at the Isle of Man TT on Saturday as he dominated the six-lap Superbike race, leading the race from start to finish and winning by almost forty seconds.

Having set the fastest lap during qualifying, the Gas Monkey Garage BMW man came into the race very much as the man to beat and, with perfect conditions all around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course, the outright lap record holder never gave anyone else a chance. Aided by the fastest lap of the race at 133.461mph, he comfortably took his sixth TT victory in total

Halfway round the first lap at Ballaugh, he was already three seconds clear of second placed Dean Harrison and with a first lap speed of 133.18mph, he was able to extend his advantage to 9.3s. Second time around, he upped his pace to 133.461mph which almost doubled his lead and with a great pit stop by his team, his grip on the race tightened.

“What a race! The bike was absolutely awesome today and it never missed a beat so a big thanks to the team for all their hard work during the week,” the 35-year old said afterwards. “For a change, I was quick on the first lap and got into the lead straightaway – not like previous years when I’ve been down the leaderboard a little bit – so once there, I just got my head down.”

Extending his lead at each timing point, the Louth-based rider’s lead was some 36s when he came into the pits at the end of the fourth lap and, with his second pit stop as good as the first, he was able to control the race in its final third and bring the bike home for another superb victory on the island.

“Having taken the lead early, I was able to open up a gap to second and control the lead from there, short shifting and rolling off the throttle where I could so as to put less stress on the engine. There’s no need to push harder or quicker than you need to so I just settled into a nice rhythm. The bike looks the part, it goes the part and I’m happy to start the week with a win.”