Dean Harrison breaks the practice week standing start lap record at Isle of Man TT
Dean Harrison clocked a 133.222mph lap from a standing start during qualifying at the Isle of Man TT.
Dean Harrison has set a new practice week standing start lap record at the Isle of Man TT, after setting an average speed of 133.222mph in qualifying one.
That was one of two 133mph laps that Harrison set, as he topped the superbike session aboard his Honda CBR1000RR-R with an even faster speed of 133.925mph.
Harrison’s best time was good enough to secure top spot by average speed of over 3mph faster than Michael Dunlop and his brother, Nathan Harrison. Harrison’s time of 133.925mph was also the quickest lap ever seen in an opening qualifying session.
Speaking after Tuesday’s running, Harrison said:
“It felt good to get out and get into a rhythm tonight. I felt good straight away and the bike did too. To be honest, I was more interested in seeing how differently the bike felt with a lightened fuel load, so as pleased as I was with the 133.2, I was equally happy to follow it up with a 133.9mph lap. The tyre, the bike and the conditions were good. I enjoyed my riding this evening and look forward to following it up tomorrow.”
Despite struggling with the amount of flies he was encountering on the Mountain course, Harrison’s team-mate John McGuinness MBE also made a strong start to qualifying.
McGuinness was fourth fastest after setting an average speed of 128.979mph on his best lap. Speaking afterwards, the 23-time TT race winner added:
“I finished the session happy. It takes a while to get used to the amount of flies that we have to deal with, there isn’t a round of BSB or even the NW200 that can prepare you for the flies you get here sometimes. I took a bit of a backwards step with a tyre choice for the first lap but we sorted that and moved forwards.
“ I’ve a few small tweaks I’d like to make but at this stage of the week it’s about getting up to speed with the track and letting my brain get used to what my eyes are feeding it. I enjoyed the session, we're not a million miles from the sharp end either which is always a good place to be.”
Qualifying for the 2026 Isle of Man TT continues throughout this week, with the final session taking place on Friday, 29 May. Racing will then start on Saturday, 30 May, with race one in the Superstock class kicking things off at 10:45am.
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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.
