2023 Isle of Man TT Results
Qualifying – Friday
Friday, the final day of preparation before race week gets underway on Saturday with the opening Supersport and Sidecar contests.
Most of the front runners have already got their set-ups pretty close earlier in the week and for many today’s session is not about pushing for lap-times, but to tick off the final preparations for the race. But some were also trying out some last minute changes and were up for a crack! And nobody was more up for it than Michael Dunlop! But more on that later…
A few riders are already out with injury including ex FIM Endurance World Champion Matthieu Lagrive who sustained a few fractures. Maria Costello is also out after being concussed. Conor Cummins sat out practice on Thursday and was also missing from today’s proceedings as he is in hospital on a drip after coming down with a bug. Even if he comes good over the weekend he will not be allowed to race until at least Monday.
Riders that are contesting the Supersport race tomorrow will be out on their machines in this session to run-in a new chain in order to get it’s first stretch in for it to then be adjusted for the four-lap race tomorrow. Many will also be bedding in some new brakes and will likely do both that and the chain stretch on their final lap of the sessions today. Many will also use today’s opportunity to do the same on their Superbike and Superstock mounts, if they don’t want to use one-lap warm-ups on the race days. Others will also run in race engines after using a different engine for qualifying.
Word on the street is that Peter Hickman’s FHO BMW is making 247 horsepower at the tyre, and in that is in a slightly detuned state from the 263 horsepower it produced when they first ran it up on the dyno…
With some riders already having clocked up around 1500 km during qualifying, while riding wild bulls at 200 mph, many will also be using today as somewhat of a recovery day. Shoulders, necks and upper backs are by now all twisted up from the punishment dished out around this brutal circuit. Then there is also the mental strain to deal with, and riders will have their own ways to rest and reset their grey matter before battle commences proper.
Conditions were just about perfect once again today, albeit a little more cloudy this morning than what we enjoyed earlier in the week. Still, a fine day with not too much wind and temperatures nudging towards 20-degrees makes for a pleasant day at the Isle of Man. And we expect much of the same well into next week. The Isle of Man just recorded its driest May since 2008, only 16.4 mm for the month, but is still lush and green everywhere you look.
The form guide leading up to TT 2023 has stayed pretty much true to form with Peter Hickman, Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop the three riders most likely to be vying for the outright victories.
Fate can be fickle and merciless though, especially at the TT. And any slight misfortune, mechanical or otherwise, from that triumvirate will open the door for the likes of Davey Todd and James Hillier to upset the natural pecking order. Jamie Coward is also looking hot to trot this year.
The old fellas have shown some decent bursts of speed at times this week too. John McGuinness has recorded his quickest lap here since 2016 and fellow quinquagenarian Michael Rutter will be ready to capitalise if the planets align sufficiently for him to get a sniff of a podium on the delectable RC213V-S. McPint is having trouble curling himself behind the bubble of the Fireblade as the Honda screen offers so little width, and that is playing havoc with his shoulders but he is more competitive he has been in years.
Aussies Josh Brookes and David Johnson are yet to show their best hands and are capable of podiums if they get dealt the right cards come race day. It will come down to whether they get comfortable enough to push the envelope that much further when the red mist comes down. Fine line to tread and fine needle to thread… It should also be noted that both of them are racing on what are pretty much Superstock specification machines even in the Superbike class. Brookes improved today for a 131.003 mph lap to finish qualifying ahead of Johnson who set a best of 129.243 mph.
David Johnson
“We’ve made lots of changes as the week’s progressed and been moving in the right direction. Friday afternoon’s session was the best the Superbike has been, and I was riding it rather than the other way round! The laps were a lot smoother, and it was easier to deal with anything the bike threw at me so we’re getting close to the lap times I need to be doing. I have to keep reminding myself I’m a year behind the rest of the riders after missing last year due to injury but I’m happy with the progress I’ve been making and just been focusing on doing my own thing. All the bikes are now in the place I want them to be but I’m not making any predictions for the races, I’ll just ride how I want. If I do that, both the lap times and results will come.”
Rennie Scaysbrook has had a bit of a nightmare week on what was a seemingly poorly prepared Honda that has suffered numerous technical problems. Rennie hopes to switch to a BMW for race week but things are getting a bit late in the day to pull that off. Rennie did get three laps in today though for a best of 115.134 mph.
It was not all plain sailing today for Michael Dunlop and Peter Hickman with both riders suffering technical problems on their SuperTwin machines which saw them pull over while out on the circuit. Not before Dunlop has showed the potential of his Paton package though with a 123.474 mph lap, well under the lap record. Dunlop’s time on the SuperTwin would have been good enough to have put him in the Supersort top ten today… After dominating SuperTwins Dunlop then went out and put in one lap on his Supersport machine to also go quickest, displacing Dean Harrison in that pecking order. Dunlop then went out on the Superbike and recorded a 134.270 mph from a standing start to set the fastest lap of the week. Next lap was the fastest ever lap of the TT Mountain Course, 135.531 under Hickman’s lap record set in the similarly great conditions we had here in 2018.
Conversely Hickman is yet to successfully complete a lap on his SuperTwin machine and thus has not qualified for the category. He rolled to a stop out near Greeba Castle and was stranded out there for some time which was a frustrating start to his Friday. The delays also meant he only managed one lap on his Supersport machine. First lap out on the Superbike though Hickman did a 133.195 mph lap then backed it up with a 134.910. That awesome lap was a little surprising as he was not on that sort of pace across the first splits but put in an awesome run across the mountain and home to put the runs on the board.
Dean Harrison was also hot to trot today and recorded a 134.216 mph lap on the ZX-10RR.
The Supersport TT kicks off race week on Saturday followed by the opening Sidecar contest. On Sunday we have the RST Superbike race over six laps while Monday is a rest day. On Tuesday we have the first of two three-lap SuperTwin and Superstock contests. Supersport races again on Wednesday along with the second and final Sidecar bout. Thursday is another rest/spare day before the final Superstock and SuperTwin races on Friday. Then next Saturday, June 10th, is the big one, the Senior TT.
2023 Isle of Man TT Qualifying Results Friday
Superbike
- Michael Dunlop 135.531 mph
- Peter Hickman 134.910 mph
- Dean Harrison 134.216 mph
- Davey Todd 132.194 mph
- Josh Brookes 131.098 mph
- John McGuinness 131.003 mph
- Jamie Coward 130.945 mph
- Rob Hodson 129.279 mph
- David Johnson 129.243 mph
- Michael Rutter 129.145 mph
- James Hillier 128.881 mph
- Shaun Anderson 128.331 mph
- Dominic Herbertson 128.280 mph
- James Hind 128.129 mph
- Phillip Crowe 127.787 mph
- Sam West 126.104 mph
- Julian Trummer 126.068 mph
- Craig Neve 125.641 mph
- Forest Dunn 124.514 mph
- David Datzer 123.581 mph
- Stefano Bonetti 123.466 mph
- Raul Torras Martinez 123.418 mph
- Mark Goodings 123.183 mph
- Michael Russell 122.951 mph
- Richard Wilson 122.928 mph
- Allan Venter 122.714 mph
- Timothee Monot 122.625 mph
- James Chawke 122.494 mph
- Ryan Pringle 121.844 mph
- Mark Parrett 121.839 mph
- Rhys Hardisty 121.404 mph
- Dave Hewson 121.243 mph
- Baz Furber 121.083 mph
- Jonathan Perry 120.840 mph
- Anthony Redmond 120.246 mph
- Chris Sarbora 120.133 mph
- Paul Williams 119.935 mph
- Erno Kostano 117.735 mph
- Rennie Scaysbrook 115.134 mph
2023 Isle of Man TT Qualifying Results Friday
Superstock
- Davey Todd 131.080 mph
- Mike Browne 129.664 mph
- James Hillier 129.099 mph
- John McGuinness 128.476 mph
- Michael Rutter 126.979 mph
- Craig Neve 126.899 mph
- Brian McCormack 126.878 mph
- Phillip Crowe 125.348 mph
2023 Isle of Man TT Qualifying Results Friday
Supersport
- Michael Dunlop 127.510 mph
- Dean Harrison 127.216 mph
- Davey Todd 125.715 mph
- Mike Browne 125.049
- Peter Hickman 124.842 mph
- James Hillier 124.761 mph
- Craig Neve 123.727 mph
- Dominic Herbertson 123.362 mph
- Paul Jordan 122.004 mph
- Shaun Anderson 121.566 mph
- David Johnson 121.155 mph
- Raul Torras Martinez 120.173 mph
- Joey Thompson 119.998 mph
- Michal Dokoupi 119.561 mph
- Stephen Parsons 119.215 mph
- Jonathan Perry 118.750 mph
- Tom Weeden 118.743 mph
- Brian McCormack 118.737 mph
- Baz Furber 118.545 mph
- Rhys Hardisty 117.993 mph
2023 Isle of Man TT Qualifying Results Friday
Supertwin
- Michael Dunlop 123.474 mph
- Jamie Coward 121.080 mph
- Mike Browne 119.522 mph
- Pierre Yves Bain 119.131 mph
- Josh Brookes 118.559 mph
- Rob Hodson 118.266 mph
- Paul Jordan 117.455 mph
- Michael Rutter 116.917 mph
- Francesco Curinga 116.131 mph
- Stefano Bonetti 115.979 mph
- Dominic Herbertson 115.885 mph
- Brian McCormack 115.568 mph
- Baz Furber 115.444 mph
- Michael Evans 115.376 mph
- Raul Torras Martinez 114.823 mph
2023 Isle of Man TT Qualifying Results Friday
Sidecar
- Founds / Walmsley 117.807 mph
- Crowe / Crowe 116.452 mph
- Reeves / Wilkes 113.509 mph
- Ramsden / Ramsden 112.719 mph
- Bryan / Hyde 112.088 mph
- Holden / Vasseur 112.046 mph
- Gibson / Christie 111.148 mph
- Knight / Hughes 110.118 mph
- Lambert / Haynes 108.965 mph
- Saunders / Saunders 108.369 mph
Isle Of Man TT 2023 Schedule
| Race Week | |||
| Event/Date | Time | Class | Laps |
| Race Day 1 | 1030 | Solo Warm-Up | 1 |
| Sat 3 June | 1145 | Monster Energy Supersport TT Race 1 | 4 |
| 1415 | 3wheeling.media Sidecar TT Race 1 | 3 | |
| Race Day 2 | 1330 | Solo Warm-Up | 1 |
| Sun 4 June | 1440 | RST Superbike Race | 6 |
| Race Day 3 | 1030 | Solo Warm-Up | 1 |
| Tue 6 June | 1050 | Sidecar Shakedown | 1 |
| 1145 | RL360 Superstock TT Race 1 | 3 | |
| 1400 | Carole Nash Supertwin TT Race 1 | 3 | |
| Race Day 4 | 1030 | Solo Warm-Up | 1 |
| Wed 7 June | 1145 | Monster Energy Supersport TT Race 2 | 4 |
| 1415 | 3wheeling.media Sidecar TT Race 2 | 3 | |
| Race Day 5 | 1030 | Solo Warm-Up | 1 |
| Fri 9 June Isle of Man Bank Holiday | 1145 | RL360 Superstock TT Race 2 | 3 |
| 1400 | Carole Nash Supertwin TT Race 2 | 3 | |
| Race Day 6 | 1030 | Solo Warm-Up | 1 |
| Sat 10 June | 1120 | Celebrating 100 Years of Sidecars at the TT | / |
| 1215 | Milwaukee Senior TT | ||
