The 2023 Isle of Man TT will be remembered as a year that Peter Hickman and Michael Dunlop dominated.
The Lincolnshire rider and the Northern Irishman shared the eight solo victories between them and re-wrote the record books by raising the bar in terms of lap speeds and race times.
The epic battles between the two riders with impeccable TT pedigrees made for compelling viewing for the tens of thousands of fans who lapped up the sun-soaked action staged in perfect conditions over this most challenging of road race circuits.
The results reinforced the pair’s status as the standout exponents of racing on the 37.73-mile Mountain Course, closely followed by Dean Harrison whose consistency was rewarded with a runner-up finish and five third places to take his overall tally of rostrum finishes to 26.
Dunlop sits tantalisingly close to his uncle Joey’s all-time record of 26 wins, trailing that longstanding benchmark by just one.
Twelve months ago Hickman marked the return of TT racing after a two-year hiatus as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic by winning four races, a feat he repeated this year to take his overall tally to 13.
Dunlop was a double Supersport victor in 2022 but had struggled to establish himself again as a frontrunner in the larger capacity 1000cc classes.
The Ballymoney man had a fresh sense of purpose, a seemingly renewed focus and determination, and looked back to his brilliant best in achieving a first Superbike win since 2018, including his fastest ever TT lap of 135.046mph.
Two more Supersport successes followed to take his record total in that class to 11, while he broke new ground with a stunning first ever 130mph lap in the middleweight class, a remarkable achievement.
Sandwiched between those victories was a third Supertwins triumph of his career to take him clear of John McGuinness into second in the winners’ list, but later in the week there was disappointment as he retired out of the lead in the next Supertwins race as he looked poised to equal the all-time wins record.
A perfect example of the vagaries of TT racing which can cause fortunes to change very quickly.
Hickman, seemingly as laid-back as his rival appeared intense, struggled with a number of technical issues on his FHO Racing BMW in the Superbike opener, before responding by finishing with a flourish by setting a new lap record for the race at 135.455.
Having also been forced to give second best to Dunlop in the two Supersport encounters, it appeared that the psychological edge may have passed to his slightly younger challenger and the 36-year-old’s metaphorical ‘crown’ may have slipped.
A convincing Superstock victory showed the British Superbike regular still had plenty in his locker however and momentum was to swing in the Burton-upon-Trent man’s favour in the latter stages of the week.
An even more impressive display in Superstock race two was capped by a sensational new absolute course lap record of 136.358, this on a production-based machine similar to that which the average motorcyclist can purchase in the showroom.
Hickman joined Dunlop in a very exclusive club of two by also lapping at over 130mph on his Supersport Triumph and was able to pick up the win in Supertwins race two on his own PHR R7 Yamaha.
The Senior race was billed as an end-of-week showdown between the event’s two primary protagonists but ultimately it was Hickman who prevailed, controlling the pace from the front throughout.
Harrison, rather than Dunlop, emerged as his main challenger, but it was Hickman who came away with the quickest lap speed – 135.507 on his second circuit – and a 39-second improvement in the race record.
Among the sidecars, brothers Ben and Tom Birchall emphasised their superiority, winning both races to extend their streak of successes to 11 and 14 in total.
Both they and nearest challengers Peter Founds and Jevan Walmsley made history by becoming the first ‘three-wheeler’ crews to lap the circuit at over 120mph.
An honourable mention to Spanish rider Raul Torras Martinez who was killed in a crash during the first Supertwin race at the Isle of Man TT. Thoughts are with the family circle at this sad time.
