SUPERSTOCK PREVIEW: IS HICKMAN BEATABLE?
With five wins on the bounce, Peter Hickman has been unstoppable in the Superstock class in recent years. And after setting the outright lap record of 136.358mph last year, it will take a lot to beat.
Michael Dunlop and Dean Harrison have been the closest challengers to Hickman in that time. Both Honda-mounted for 2024, Dunlop got close to beating Hickman last year but ultimately had no answer to the absolute pace of FHO Racing by Monster Energy rider. An all-new CBR1000RR-R Fireblade for 2024 should help the cause, but Dunlop has had limited running time on the bike to date. Harrison, meanwhile, has had plenty of seat time on the new model and excelled at the North West 200 earlier in the month when riding the Superstock-spec Honda across all the classes.
However, all three will have to contend with the Milwaukee BMW Motorrad entry of Davey Todd. He took third in the corresponding race two years ago and has been in stunning form this year, taking both wins at the North West 200 as well as victory at the first two rounds of the National Superstock Championship. That form suggests his first TT win may well come in one of the Superstock races.
More Honda threats come in the shape of Manx hope Conor Cummins who took second in 2022, Jamie Coward and James Hillier. Coward set his personal best lap of the TT Mountain Course at more than 132mph last year and it’s the class that puts the leading privateer on the most level playing field.
And don’t forget John McGuinness (Honda Racing) and Cummins’ team-mate Ian Hutchinson, the former having taken a superb third at the North West 200 and the latter a 5-time winner in the class, a tally only matched by Hickman.
Josh Brookes adds further weight to the BMW challenge on the second FHO Racing machine with David Johnson leading the Kawasaki charge. His only TT podium to date came in the 2019 Superstock Race and the record books show it’s the class he traditionally performs the best in.
Honda undoubtedly have strength in numbers with Craig Neve, Rob Hodson, Shaun Anderson and Paul Jordan making up the 11 Hondas in the top 20 starters, with Jordan’s Jackson Racing team mate Julian Trummer just outside.
Further top ten challengers can be found in Dominic Herbertson, Phil Crowe, Brian McCormack and Sam West, with James Hind and local ace Michael Evans flying the flag for Suzuki.
A dark horse for a top six position could well be Mike Browne who rides the IN Competition Aprilia. The Italian manufacturer has almost zero form in the class around the Mountain Course, but former TT podium finisher Ian Newton runs a formidable team having enjoyed success year on year with the V4 in the Pirelli Superstock Championship.
Ryan and Jamie Cringle, Marcus Simpson and David Rigby swell the Manx ranks with some considerable challengers coming from mainland Europe in the shape of David Datzer, Stefano Bonetti, Amalric Blanc and Erno Kostamo. The last named excelled at the North West 200, so keep an eye out to see if he can make a similar impression in his second appearance at the TT.
The two 3-lap RL360 Superstock Races at the 2024 Isle of Man TT Races are scheduled to take place on Tuesday 4th and Friday 7th June.
