Summary of the Isle of Man TT 2023
Well, what a fortnight that was on our little isle in the middle of the Irish Sea. The weather was as good as any of us can remember and the racing was just exceptional not to mention the speeds! We welcomed so many amazing people to the Dub and everyone who came left with memories for life both on the course and off it. The Uggly&Co stand in the trade area up at the Grandstand never had a quiet moment and the supported riders just blew us all away with their efforts. Congratulations to all our riders on their respective fortnights but most importantly we sent our love and condolences to Raul’s family, friends, and team.
It was an incredible time for Michael Dunlop with three wins off the bat in the Superbike and the opening Supersport and Supertwin races to take him to 23 wins, alongside the legendary John McGuinness on 23 wins before he took second in the all-time list on his own with a scintillating win in the second Supersport race, posting a new lap record of 130.403mph…on his own Yamaha R6! Disappointment followed as a rampant Peter Hickman took Superstock honours with a new outright lap record of 136.358mph, a DNF in the second Supertwin race, and third in the Senior TT to close the festival fortnight. Michael leaves the island two wins shy of equalling his uncle, Joey Dunlop, on 26 wins around the 37.73-mile Mountain course.
Davey Todd went into TT fortnight hoping to emulate his podium performance of 2022 but it wasn’t to be in 2023 as the Saltburn rider was struck down with the same stomach bug late in race week that ruled teammate Conor Cummins out of the first Supersport race and the Superbike race. Taking top-five places in every race he finished showed the consistency of the reigning National Superstock champion but a DNF in the second STK race and a ninth in the Senior belied the efforts Davey made to make it around the Mountain course. He’s already looking forward to next year!
Dom Herbertson ticked a big box in the opening Superbike race when he finally cracked the 130mph lap aboard his BMW S1000RR. Our favourite lumberjack had a week of mixed fortunes but still came out smiling. A last-minute switch to Dafabet Racing for the two Supersport races gave Dom more reasons to smile after his entry into the 130 Club along with a host of top ten finishes, which would have been more had he not overshot pit lane in the opening STK race as Michael Rutter went up the inside on the slip road; he recovered to finish an impressive 29th after losing a ton of time.
Jamie Coward was Mr. Consistent at TT ’23 as the Yorkshireman recorded top six places in the six races he finished including a super 3rd place in the opening Supertwin event. Finishing no lower than 6th in every race is a testament to the progress both Jamie and the KTS team are making after the switch from Yamaha to Honda power. Speaking of Yamaha, James Hillier continued to build his unprecedented start/finish ratio as the Dakar star brought home a raft of top six finishes and just one DNF in the six races he contested, the highlight being the Senior TT where he posted his fastest-ever lap at 132.703mph.
Jim Hind continued his schooling around the TT as the young Lincolnshire rider contested the four big bike races and the two Supersport races. Jim is getting to grips with the GSXR1000, posting admirable top 15 results in three of the races and a 10th and an impressive 6th in the second Supersport race. We’re already excited to see what next year brings for Jim!
In the world of three wheels, Ben and Tom Birchall smashed the lap record twice in two races to become the first outfit to lap the TT course at over 120mph. Posting a 120.357mph best in race 1 was replaced by a 120.645mph on their way to another dominant victory. Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes must have felt like it was 2022 all over again as they were forced to retire from the opening race but salvaged the week with a battling fourth place in the second event on Wednesday. Tim and Mark know that wins are all that matter but it was great to see the crew finish a race here and build on that for ’23.
Here at the Dub, we’re going for a short lie down before we begin preparations for TT ’24 while the Uggly&Co team heads over to Knockhill for Round 4 of BSB at the home of Scottish Motorsport. Catch them there for all the awesome BlackDub and Uggly&Co merch along with collaborations for our supported riders.
Until next week, look after yourselves, and thanks for reading!
