TT 2018: Dunlop under Lightweight record on opening night

The 2018 Isle of Man TT kicked off under glorious sunshine on Saturday night with the newcomers setting off for their speed controlled laps just before 7pm.

However, it was once again Michael Dunlop making the headlines as he cruised to an unofficial Lightweight lap record on his first ride on the Paton.

Dunlop’s lap of 120.87mph is marginally quicker than James Hillier’s 120.85mph lap record set back in 2015.

Silicone Engineering Kawasaki’s Dean Harrison led the way in the Supersport class with his quickest opening night lap of 125.797mph with Michael Dunlop lapping less than a second slower on the MD Racing Honda. Conor Cummins was third quickest for Padgetts Racing ahead of local man Dan Kneen.

Peter Hickman was fifth on the Smiths Trooper Triumph ahead of the second Padgetts bike of Lee Johnston with James Hillier and William Dunlop, while Josh Brookes and Ivan Lintin rounded out the top ten. Returning to the mountain course for the first time since his Senior TT crash, Ian Hutchinson was 15^th quickest having lapped the course with an average speed of 121.327mph.

Ivan Lintin was second quickest in the Lightweight session with a lap of 120.66mph

Derek McGee was third quickest on the IEG KMR Kawasaki. John Holden and Lee Cain were quickest in the sidecar session.

Supersport Top 10 – Saturday Evening 

1. Dean Harrison – Silicone Engineering Kawasaki – 125.797mph
2. Michael Dunlop – MD Racing Carl Cox Honda – 125.741mph
3. Conor Cummins – Padgetts Honda – 125.152mph
4. Dan Kneen – Jackson Racing Honda – 124.703mph
5. Peter Hickman – Smiths Trooper Triumph – 124.447mph
6. Lee Johnston – Padgetts Honda – 123.245mph
7. James Hillier – Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki – 122.967mph
8. William Dunlop – Temple/Caffrey Yamaha – 122.755mph
9. Josh Brookes – McAMS Monster Yamaha – 122.109mph
10. Ivan Lintin – Dafabet Devitt Kawasaki – 121.918mph

Lightweight Top 10 – Saturday Evening

1. Michael Dunlop – Paton/MD Racing – 120.87mph
2. Ivan Lintin – Dafabet Devitt Racing – 120.66mph
3. Derek McGee – IEG KMR Kawasaki – 117.57mph
4. Peter Hickman – IEG KMR Kawasaki – 117.51mph
5. Stefano Bonetti – Paton – 117.12mph 
6. David Johnson – Kawasaki – 117.03mph
7. Ian Lougher – Paton Team ILR – 116.54mph 
8. Michael Rutter – Paton – 115.42mph
9. Danny Webb – IEG KMR Kawasaki – 116.10mph 
10. Daniel Cooper – KW Electrical Kawasaki – 115.02mph