2022 Isle of Man TT
TT Supermarket
By Ben McCook
Peter Hickman put in an impressive performance to claim another victory in the hypercar race on Monday night. Hickman wasn’t in the mood to mess around in his BMW Gas Monkey FHO after failing the Monster energy Supersport that morning when he finished 3rd. Looks like the Lincolnshire man is in a league his own level until a final twist saw Conor Cummins plunge into a brutal lap at 133.1 mph. But it’s too late for Manxman, who still hasn’t had a single TT win in his career, to believe it.
The race was postponed until 1835 after a red flag incident at the end Supersport race early that morning. Unfortunately, news filtered through at the end of the day makes that solid Davy Morgan lost his life in a race that saw him start his 80th TT. Shocking news for the road racing community.
The delay in proceedings had an impact that lasted throughout the day and so part of the course was opened for a short time to let locals get home from work and allow island life to function. motion. By the time the race starts, the infamous Manx Midges are out of date and the little bugs will cause major discomfort for spectators and vision problems for competitors.
Initially, it was Davey Todd who took on the task of challenging Hickman. In the first season, only 4s covered the top 7 with Dean Harrison, Michael Dunlop, Conor Cummins, Lee Johnston and Ian Hutchinson all competing. But by Ramsey, the BMW Gas Monkey has begun to straighten its legs; Hickman had a 7.6-second lead – an ominous development for the rest before he even made it to his beloved stretch of the mountain.
There are many documents that Peter loves the mountains… racers from the British championship usually do. They treated Snaefell like an electrical circuit and hit deep turns the same way they approached the likes of Woodcote in Silverstone, or Coppice in Donington Park.
By the time they were pitted at the end of round 1, Hickman had already had the lead and attention soon turned to battle 2. (As in the previous SSP race, the curators specified that all players racer must stop at the end of lap 1).
At this point Cummins began his charge. The 2-meter man reached 3rd but still had a gap with his teammate, Todd, who looked comfortable in 2nd and managed to pull back 2 seconds from Hickman.
Cummins and Harrison eliminated it in 3rd place while Lee Johnston dropped out, which gave Michael Dunlop some breathing room in 5th. Honda mounted Dunlop somewhat down from the previous performance. his that morning.
It wasn’t until Cummins overtook Glen Helen on the final lap (the race’s only flying lap) that people started to sit up and pay attention to the work he was doing. Ramsey Barista posted a ‘purple area’ on that last point for the old comment score – fastest than anyone in the race.
By the time he arrived at Ballaugh, Cummins was ahead of fellow Milenco Honda, Todd, and he will go on to lead in the next tournament in his hometown of Ramsey. ‘Conrod’ is flying.
Suddenly people began to consider it impossible. Will he be able to catch Hickman? The leader has already approached slower riders on the road and the gap is closing.
ex-commentator Mark Miller exclaimed as the live feed showed Hickman and Todd scratching at Creg-ny-baa one last time; hard to get on the brake. Minutes later, they would cross the line together – the chronograph needlessly tell us that Hickman was 20 seconds ahead of the starting line exactly after 8, just over an hour earlier.
A half-hearted countdown then begins for the Isle of Man’s favorite son (a change of leader is unlikely but you just never know at TT). Cummins started right after Hicky, so the wait went up to 10. In the end, Conor dropped 12.7 seconds.
In fact, a Hickman victory is never in doubt. But Cummins’ sheer speed kept the crowd buzzing and listening to every word as the commentary team recorded that final round. There is no harm in dreaming.
The 133.1 mph lap was a personal best for Cummins and his first lap in over 133. His teammate Todd finished the podium in real fortune for the Milenco pair. Padgett.
1. Peter Hickman – BMW
2. Conor Cummins – Honda + 12,701 seconds
3. Davey Todd – Honda + 7,665 seconds
Todd in particular was really down after previous Supersport race. He admits that tire problems he experienced in SBK TT is playing in his mind and he doesn’t like the race. He was already a changed man when he celebrated this first TT podium.
Behind them are Harrison and Dunlop in 4th and 5th while Jamie Coward once again finished 6th – 3rd in a row at this year’s event. Harrison changed to Metzeler rubber at the last minute before the race.
Hutchinson finished 7th with Herbertson, McGuinness and Phil Crowe completing the top 10.
Cummins might now be considering Stock bikes in Senior if this is the speed it’s achievable. Round 133 will definitely challenge him.
However, tonight is all about Hickman. Yet again he outdid it all before him in a 1000cc competition. Had he not been hit by a traffic jam on that final lap, he would have most likely sped faster than the 132.274 mph he hit (which in itself is impressive) and eclipsed the effort. Cummins’ force, stealing whatever little glory Manxman had won from that fastest lap. Only a fool would bet against Hickman taking Senior on Friday.
As for Glenn Irwin, Honda’s man power plant towed the car citing concerns about the bike’s stability and deciding not to finish the race.
Results TT Supersystem
- Peter Hickman – BMW
- Conor Cummins – Honda + 12,701 seconds
- Davey Todd – Honda + 7,665 seconds
- Dean Harrison – Kawasaki + 6,849 seconds
- Michael Dunlop – Honda + 12,477 seconds
- Jamie Coward – Yamaha + 18,464 seconds
- Ian Hutchinson – BMW + 14,625s
- Dominic Herbertson – BMW + 23.743s
- John McGuinness – Honda + 7,521 seconds
- Phillip Crowe – BMW + 13,437 units
