Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop make fast start to Isle of Man TT qualifying
Dean Harrison continued his hot start to the 2026 Isle of Man TT with another very strong performance in qualifying three.
With another full day of qualifying still to go at the 2026 Isle of Man TT, the superbike class is currently being led by Honda Racing UK’s Dean Harrison.
Harrison, who also set the fastest time of any superbike rider during the opening qualifying session of the event (Tuesday, 26 May), produced a lap of 133.712mph during Wednesday evening’s Qualifying 3. Harrison was also quickest of any superstock rider during Qualifying 2 on Wednesday.
His time of 133.712mph on the superbike machine was nearly identical to his best lap on the superstock-spec CBR1000RR-R.
Speaking after Qualifying 3 across all classes, Harrison said:
“I’m comfortable on all three bikes, I enjoyed riding but found myself rushing a few sections. I know if I wind it back a little, I’ll be quicker. I’ll have a rest tomorrow and keep chipping away on Friday.”
While Harrison appears to be the rider to beat in the ‘big-bike’ classes, Michael Dunlop was yet again at the top of the standings when it came to supersport machinery.
The 33-time TT winner ended Supersport Qualifying 3 almost 30 seconds clear of Harrison in second, although the Honda rider encountered traffic on his best lap.
Riding a Ducati Panigale V2, Dunlop set an average speed of 128.764mph on his first lap, before improving on his next tour. Topping the supersport session will have been a relief for Dunlop, after the Ulsterman endured a torrid time in the evening’s Superbike/Superstock session.
Dunlop appeared to hit trouble inside the first nine miles while riding his superbike-spec Honda CBR1000RR-R, as his sector time to Glen Helen was way off the pace. But things got worse when switching over to his BMW M1000 RR superstock bike, as he came to a stop at Quarterbridge before walking back to the paddock. The technical issue meant that Dunlop’s session was over.
Qualifying three in the superbike class ended with Peter Hickman second to Harrison, ahead of John McGuinness in third.
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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
