Michael Dunlop takes third in Superbike TT as Dean Harrison wins 2026 opener
Michael Dunlop opened his 2026 Isle of Man TT race week with third place in the Superbike race on Sunday 31 May. The Northern Ireland rider competed on a Honda CBR1000RR-R entered by MD Racing/Hawk Racing, finishing behind winner Dean Harrison on a factory Honda and Peter Hickman on a BMW M1000 RR. Harrison won by 15.580 seconds from Hickman, while Dunlop was a further 12.416 seconds back. That podium was a valuable result but also a clear sign that, on the day, the Ballymoney rider did not possess the outright Superbike pace of the leading pair.
Harrison's pace set the terms
Harrison had been strongly fancied after practice and seized the advantage from the start. The six-lap race, the first of that full distance at the TT since 2024, demanded sustained performance for approximately 226 miles rather than a single headline lap. Harrison completed the opening circuit at 134.892mph and maintained enough speed to prevent Hickman from closing the gap. Hickman's runner-up position was a significant result in its own right given the injuries and nerve damage he had been working through after a crash in the preceding year.
Dunlop occupied the last podium position and was clearly separated from the top two on accumulated time. Contemporary reporting recorded him expressing dissatisfaction with aspects of his Superbike Honda and saying that he had not expected to make the podium. That is a much more useful explanation than imagining an intense three-way scrap that the result does not support. A third place can still be a meaningful achievement in a demanding race without pretending it represents a near victory.
The race programme had already changed
Rain had affected the opening race weekend, and the Superstock contest originally scheduled for Saturday 30 May was cancelled from that slot. The Superbike race became the first major completed race of the programme. The Mountain Course was then subjected to further delays and rearrangements through the following week. Such changes can affect preparation, machine choices and a competitor's confidence, but they should not be invoked as an unsupported excuse for any individual performance.
Josh Brookes finished fourth on a Honda, followed by John McGuinness in fifth and Ian Hutchinson in sixth. Those positions show the strength of the field Dunlop faced. Several riders with extensive TT experience completed the six laps, but Harrison's qualifying and race pace remained the decisive feature. The order should be reported as a genuine competitive hierarchy for that particular race, not as a definitive ranking across every motorcycle class on the island.
Why the week changed for Dunlop
Two days later, Dunlop won the first Supersport race on a Ducati, his 34th TT victory, and followed that with another Supersport win and a Sportbike victory on Friday. Those later wins would extend his all-time record to 36. The contrast with the Superbike podium is instructive. Dunlop was able to win on other machines despite being unable to match Harrison's Superbike performance. The different results reflect the specific machinery, class rules, competition and circumstances, rather than a single universal measure of rider form.
