Dean Harrison wins RST Superbike TT after commanding six-lap ride

TT 2026

RST Superbike TT

Dean Harrison produced a masterclass on the Isle of Man on Sunday, winning the RST Superbike TT by 15.5s on his Honda Racing CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. Sticking to his pre-race game plan, Dean put the hammer down from the get-go before controlling the race from the front. He led at the first time check at Glen Helen on lap 1 and, from that point, was never headed. It was the 6th TT victory of the Honda star’s career and one that means he has now won all of the big trophies up for grabs at the event.

Dean Harrison with the winning Honda and the Superbike TT trophy, a result that rewarded both his practice-week pace and race-day control.

It should be said that there wasn’t a single person on the island who didn’t see this coming after the pace shown by the Yorkshireman in practice week. Harrison had already banked no less than 10 sub-17-minute laps this year, with his rivals scrambling without success to match his form. But ‘Deano’ still had to deliver on that great promise, which he did in style today during the race. He was consistently on 133mph and over pace and always looked to be in complete control. In the end, he won comfortably with Peter Hickman in 2nd and Michael Dunlop completing the podium.

The big race opened proceedings at this year’s event and ran for the entirety of its scheduled six laps. That meant that this was the first 6-lapper since the corresponding race in 2024. Poor weather had dictated that all of the blue-riband races between then and now had been either cut to 4 laps or cancelled altogether. It was nice to see a return to the endurance testing 360km contests today.

Yesterday, fog had enveloped most of the island; a phenomenon known locally as the ‘Cloak of Manannan’. This meant the medical helicopter could not fly, rendering the Mountain course unfit for purpose and putting a stop to competition. Therefore, yesterday’s scheduled 3-lap Stock race had been cancelled. But there were no such problems today, and the sun beamed down as thousands of spectators took their positions at the roadside all around the course.

The Legacy Lap brought together road riders of every kind before the Mountain Course was handed back to the Superbikes.

The annual legacy lap took place in the morning before the roads closed, and over a thousand bikes lined up to take part. Waving fans cheered them through, and it really got the party started, lending a feel-good atmosphere to the morning.

As Sunday church bells chimed, the Superbikes began to arrive on the grid just after 1230 and to say there was tension in the air would be an understatement.

McGuinness before the start, wearing matching retro colours to mark the PBM RS250 Honda he first raced at the TT in 1996.

There were several points of interest on the start line. Conor Cummins had parked the AJN Batham’s BMW Superbike and had decided to race his own Conrad racing Superstock spec M1000RR. Mark Parrett was lining up to start his 99th TT. Parrett had planned to make his 100th race start at last year’s event and then retire from the sport. However, a feathered friend on the mountain had other ideas. Parrett hit a seagull halfway through race week and broke his arm, putting the old stager out of the 2025 event. The whole sorry business meant that he’d had to come back this year to get the job done.

McGuinness leaves the start line on the one-off tribute-liveried Honda, a sentimental moment quickly followed by a serious race pace.

However, the biggest talking point was John McGuinness’ number 1 machine. With just minutes to go before the flag dropped, his Honda was unveiled, sporting a beautiful one-off paint job. The Fireblade had been transformed into a replica of the first bike McPint raced at the event back in 1996- a PBM RS250cc Honda. John had the leathers and helmet to match and admitted to being ‘emotional’ on the start-line. It was a nostalgic moment and came as an unexpected but very welcome surprise.
However, once racing got underway, there was no time for sentiment, and the main protagonists immediately got down to business.

At Glen Helen on lap 1, Harrison was already 4.8s up on Dunlop with Hickman half a second back in 3rd. Josh Brookes was lying 4th, 3.1s further back with McGuinness and Ian Hutchinson right on the Australian’s coattails.

Hickman’s pace built late in the race, his best lap of 134.587 mph confirming he was getting closer to his old self after a difficult 2025 TT.

At Ballaugh, Harrison’s lead was 7.5s, and at Ramsey it was 8. By that stage, he had already caught and passed his teammate, McGuinness and was the leader on the road.

Deano was marching away with it, and Dunlop and Hickman were powerless to respond. But Dunlop was trying everything he knew and soon caught and passed Davo Johnson. MD had pulled a couple of seconds on Hickman as they began the Mountain climb, but by the end of the lap, Hicky had pegged it back to a single second. The race for the runner-up spot was very much on. Josh Brookes was still 4th with McGuinness pushing him all the way; the 54-year-old rolling back the years.

Harrison stretches the Honda across the Mountain Course, his pre-race practice form translating directly into race-winning pace.

Harrison was laying down the law, and his lead was out to 12s as he raced onto the 2nd lap with a clear road ahead of him. His opening lap was 134.89 mph, and really, when all was said and done, that lap was the one that did the damage.

Dunlop began to catch more riders on the road, and it was affecting his battle with Hickman for 2nd. He got stuck behind Nathan Harrison as they approached Ramsey for the 2nd time, and it would be some miles before he got ahead, despite his best efforts. Michael was seen shaking his head as he and Nathan flip-flopped through Parliament Square.

Michael Dunlop completed the podium after a long battle with Peter Hickman, his switch back to Honda still yielding a top-three result.

It cost Michael 4s by the time he eventually overtook the H&H motorcycle man, and that allowed Hickman to nip ahead on the timesheets. However, a strong run over the Mountain put Dunlop back ahead as they pitted for the first stop at the end of lap 2.

The Honda crew service Harrison’s Fireblade during one of the two pit stops, with clean boards and clean stops helping him control the race from the front.

Harrison had banked a speed of 134.77mph on his way into gasoline alley, and that put him 24s in front and out of sight.

The 8 Ten team produced a really slick stop, and Hicky gained some time on Dunlop. By the time they got to Glen Helen on lap 3, the pair could barely be separated, just 3 tenths between them.

Hickman left his best work until late, reducing Harrison’s lead in the final stages but not quite early enough to threaten for victory.

While Harrison continued to break away, Dunlop and Hickman raced at almost identical speeds all the way to Ramsey with Dunlop holding the slenderest of advantages, never more than a single second. But Hickman started to up his game, and it was the lap-record holder who held 2nd at the Bungalow. By the end of the lap, the number 10 had 2.5s of breathing space.

David Johnson gets the Platinum Club Kawasaki airborne before his race came to an early end at Glen Vine.

Around this time, Davo Johnson’s Platinum Club Kawasaki was reported as stopped at Glen Vine.
Harrison was now over 30s up the road and coasting to victory, but Dunlop would not lie down to Hickman and doggedly went after the Burton-on-Trent man throughout lap 4. By Ramsey, he’d regained 2nd, but big Pete responded, and at the Bungalow things had swung back in his favour. But when they pitted for the 2nd time at the end of the circuit, Dunlop had somehow once again pushed in front of his rival. The battle between the two legends was enthralling, and you couldn’t help but think it was a shame it wasn’t for the win…

Dunlop drives the Honda hard over the Mountain Course, a third-place finish keeping him on the rostrum despite limited preparation on the bike.

But for whatever reason, at that point, Dunlop ran out of answers and began to slip away from his rival. Over the course of the final two laps, Hickman took time out of Michael at every checkpoint, with no response from the Ballymoney man.

Harrison was beginning to slacken off at the front, and Hicky was also making inroads on his lead, which had at one time been out to 33 seconds. On Hickman’s final and only flying lap, he posted by far his fastest time of the week (134.59mph) to secure 2nd in the race and finally exorcise the ghosts of his horrible 2025 crash.

Hickman passes the fans on the BMW, eventually breaking clear of Dunlop to finish second behind Harrison.

At the flag, Harrison’s advantage had been halved to 15.5s while Michael Dunlop crossed the line 12.4s down on Hicky to complete the rostrum.

But it was all about Harrison, who had this to say:

“I’ve had good pace all week. I had a bit more in the tank to be honest, I feel like I can go a bit better. I got a good lead and just controlled it from there really. I had really good pit boards, they were absolutely brilliant. I read them all the way round the course and knew where I was at all times. But that felt good for six laps and I feel good. Massive thanks to the Honda team, the bike never missed a beat the whole race. It was a bit of a gamble. I asked them to build this bike for me and they sort of looked at me… but they gone away and built it and I’ve won the Superbike race so it’s quite good!”

Harrison lifts the RST Superbike TT trophy after a commanding ride that took his TT victory tally to six.

Hickman was really happy to secure 2nd, signalling his return to the winner’s enclosure after missing last year’s races. He also mentioned issues he still endures after his big crash.

“So thankful to BMW and 8Ten racing… all the boys in the team, it takes a lot doesn’t? It wasn’t until about half way through lap 4 that I started to calm myself. I’m still not the way I should be, I’m not hitting all my markers. I’m still not quite myself but from lap 4 onwards I started to feel more like me. Each time I ride this week, I get a little bit better.”

Peter Hickman and the 8TEN BMW crew celebrate second place, an important return to the winner’s enclosure after his bruising 2025 TT.

Dunlop lamented a lack of testing on his Honda this year after initially being signed up to ride a V4RR Ducati. He decided against that just over a month ago and has switched to the Honda. Of being on the back foot, he said, “It’s my own fault’ and ‘I won’t get caught like that again.”

Almost 1 minute behind Dunlop, Josh Brookes secured a really strong 4th position after a race-long duel with John McGuinness. At times, their battle had been similar to Hickman and Dunlop. At Ramsey on lap 5, Brookes’ advantage was just 1.5s. But from that point on, the DAO racing Honda man streaked away, pulling time on John at every split.

Brookes reached the flag 19s up on McGuinness. It was an eye-catching performance from each man, and both banked some seriously fast lap times; consistently over 132mph. Brookes’ final lap was 133.82mph. Ian Hutchinson completed the top 6, with Jamie Coward, Nathan Harrison, Mike Browne and Paul Jordan rounding out the top 10.

Josh Brookes

“It’s a credit to the team, the superbike has been quiet a difficult machine over the practice week, and we had to make a lot of changes to make it competitive, I think even in that race it’s still visible to see that’s not easy to ride. It was quite a brutal start to race week, a six-lap superbike race, without any event to ease us into it.

“The team did a great job in the pit-stop, we didn’t lose any time, and everything went smooth. The early laps for me are where I need to work on a lot more in myself, the final lap of the race was my fastest and I feel like I take too much time building into it, I can’t just drop the hammer on the first few laps.

“I had a few moments with the bike before the first pit-stop and that made me a little nervous, then I tried to ride a little more smoother and just be flowing. After the last pit-stop I got my head down and pushed on a little more, and that’s when I made a few more improvements.

“Still, fourth place is good, it’s a solid start and we can move on now into the other races with confidence. I just want to add my thanks to the fans out there, they were fantastic, waving all around on the final lap, it didn’t go unnoticed and I really appreciate all the support.”

Josh Brookes was the best of the rest behind the podium battle, finishing fourth after pulling away from John McGuinness in the closing stages.

New Zealand’s Mitch Rees nicked into the top 20 with a good, solid performance. If he continues in that vein, we could see the Whakatane bike dealer become a seeded rider in 2027.

Mitchell Rees leads Julian Trummer on the road, the New Zealander’s top-20 finish another solid step in his TT progression.

Monday is a planned rest day at the TT, which is probably just as well, as rain is forecast for most of the day. Racing is scheduled to return on Tuesday, but looking at the outlook for the next 7 days, the TT might be in trouble. The weather does not look at all kind, and if conditions for the rest of the week turn out as predicted, then it’s difficult to see when racing will get a chance to return. We’ll keep you updated as and when the story unfolds.

Dean Harrison with the RST Superbike TT trophy, his family and the winning Honda after a result that completed his set of major TT trophies.

RST Superbike TT Race Results