Isle of Man TT 2025: Michael Dunlop secures 30th TT victory in opening Supersport race

Michael Dunlop celebrated a record-extending 30^th Isle of Man TT victory on Monday afternoon as he won the opening Supersport race at this year’s event.

Dunlop is armed with a factory-spec Ducati Panigale V2 this year in the Supersport category, and the Northern Irishman used all of the Ducati’s power to his advantage around the Mountain Course.

The victory is also hugely significant for Ducati, as the Italian giants hadn’t celebrated a TT victory since Rob Holden’s triumph in the 1995 Singles TT.

Prior to that win, Ducati hadn’t seen success at the TT since Tony Rutter’s four Formula 2 victories in 1981, 1982, 1983 & 1985. The only other Ducati victory at the TT came in 1978 with Mike Hailwood won the Formula 1 race.

Back to 2025, and Dunlop’s victory wasn’t straightforward. Honda’s Dean Harrison led the reduced three-lap race by 7.4 seconds at the end of the opening lap. The riders pitted at the end of that lap, with Dunlop making some changes to the dampers on his Ducati.

On lap two Dunlop began to close in on Harrison’s CBR600RR and as the pair began the final lap only 2.9 seconds separated them. Dunlop took the lead of the race for the first time at Ballaugh Bridge by the narrowest of margins (0.1s), and dominated the remainder of the lap to cross the line 10.2 seconds clear of Harrison with a 130.313mph lap.

Dunlop has now won TT races with seven different manufacturers, whilst Harrison celebrated his second podium this year after finishing third in the opening Superbike race earlier in the day.

James Hillier claimed an emotional podium in third spot just weeks after losing his ride with WTF Racing. The team folded in the aftermath of parent team, OMG Racing’s brief departure from racing.

Thankfully, Hillier’s season was saved thanks to Bournemouth Kawasaki, with the now 15-time TT podium finisher only jumping on the bike for the first time in the opening practice session last week. It’s Hillier’s first podium since 2019.

Superbike race winner Davey Todd finished fourth on the Padgett’s Honda CBR600RR, whilst fellow Honda man Josh Brookes completed the top five. Rob Hodson was sixth onboard his Yamaha, with James Hind, Dominic Herbertson, Ian Hutchinson and Conor Cummins completing the top 10.