TODD VICTORIOUS IN PRESTIGIOUS MILWAUKEE SENIOR TT RACE

Davey Todd claimed a second win of the week at the Isle of Man TT Races, the Milwaukee BMW rider taking victory in a dramatic Milwaukee Senior by 39.084 seconds from Josh Brookes (Monster Energy BMW by FHO Racing) with Dean Harrison (Honda Racing UK) in third.

That only tells half the story though as Brookes’ team-mate Peter Hickman led at the end of lap one after lapping at 135.523mph. He was on course for a new outright lap record only to come off, uninjured, at Ginger Hall whilst record 29-time winner Michael Dunlop (MasterMac Hawk Honda) retired on the first lap.

Todd’s success gave TAS Racing their first Senior victory since Adrian Archibald won in 2004 whilst it was also their 21st TT victory in total.

With an evening start time of 6pm, conditions around the Mountain Course were the best they’d been all day and it was Hickman who led through Glen Helen on the opening lap, just a tenth up on Todd. Dunlop was 2.3 seconds adrift in third with Harrison only 1.3 seconds back of him as Brookes and James Hillier (WTF Racing Honda) rounded out the early top six, the latter only a second ahead of John McGuinness (Honda Racing). KTS Racing’s Jamie Coward, meanwhile, withdrew from the race due to an ongoing arm injury.

Hickman flew along the stretch to Ballaugh and stretched his lead out to 1.5 seconds and although Dunlop was still in third, he was now more than four seconds behind the race leader. McGuinness had taken over sixth as James Hind leapt up the order to a superb seventh on the North Lincs Components Suzuki.

By Ramsey, Hickman added another second to his lead, courtesy of the quickest ever sector time from Ballaugh, with Todd now six seconds clear of Dunlop. Harrison was only two tenths of a second ahead of Brookes in the battle for fourth, but drama soon followed as Dunlop pulled into retire just after the Bungalow.

An opening lap of 135.23mph gave Hickman a 2.7 seconds lead over Todd (135.159mph) and it was now Brookes in third, the Australian lapping at 133.388mph. Harrison (132.976mph), Hillier (130.777mph) and Mike Browne (130.536mph) now occupied fourth to sixth, the latter finally setting his first 130mph lap on the IN Competition Aprilia, as McGuinness, Shaun Anderson (Team Classic Suzuki), Nathan Harrison (Honda Racing UK) and Dominic Herbertson (Burrows Engineering/RK Racing BMW) rounded out the top ten.

Hickman set another record sector time at the beginning of lap two, from the Grandstand to Glen Helen, and that enabled him to extend his lead over Todd to 4.8 seconds. The latter was trying harder than ever, but Hickman’s stunning pace meant he was unable to make any headway into his deficit.

Over Ballaugh Bridge and another new record sector time saw Hickman’s lead go out to 8.3 seconds and it was clear the proverbial pin had been pulled. Could Todd respond?

We didn’t get to find out though as Hickman didn’t reach Ramsey, crashing at Ginger Hall, although he was thankfully up and ok. That meant Todd now led Brookes by almost twenty seconds as Dean Harrison moved back into the podium positions.

A second lap of 134.789mph saw Todd’s lead stand at 18.6s but Brookes was flying with a new personal best lap of 134.056mph, only the fifth rider to break into the 134’s. Dean Harrison (132.445) was running in a comfortable third ahead of Hillier (132.068mph), the flying Browne (130.872mph) and McGuinness (130.901mph). All the drama allowed Herbertson to move up to seventh from Nathan Harrison, Rob Hodson (SMT Racing Honda) and Michael Rutter (Bathams Ales BMW).

The solitary pit stop saw further change as Todd’s stop was almost seven seconds quicker than Brookes although the FHO Racing rider was still almost ten seconds ahead of Harrison as they reached Glen Helen for the third and penultimate time. Hillier looked secure in fourth whilst Browne had edged away from McGuinness, the Honda man uncharacteristically losing time in the pits, but Herbertson’s strong ride ended in retirement at Crosby.

Starting the fourth final lap, Todd was more than half a minute clear and on his way to a famous win and despite his vast advantage, he pressed on, continually increasing his lead. With a trouble-free final lap, the 28-year old duly brought the bike home 39 seconds ahead of Brookes who claimed his best TT result in second.

Dean Harrison took a comfortable third ahead of fellow Honda rider Hillier and the race for fifth saw McGuinness come out on top as he got the better of the impressive Browne by seven seconds. Nathan Harrison finished in a fine seventh, his best TT result, and it was Anderson who eventually got the verdict for eighth – aided by a new personal best lap of 130.703mph – ahead of Rutter and Paul Jordan (Jackson Racing Honda).