History made and breakthrough winners at TT 2024

The 2024 Isle of Man TT will be remembered as the year in which Michael Dunlop became the most successful rider in the history of the event and new stars joined the top table by scoring debut wins.

Michael sat just one short of his late uncle Joey's record tally coming into the latest edition of the famous road races but any weight of expectation was quickly lifted off his shoulders when he took victory in the curtain-raiser of the meeting, Supersport race one.

Having drawn level with his legendary relative at the top of the all-time list with his 26th win, Michael was set to go one better in the Superbike race, only to be denied a seemingly certain victory because of an issue with his visor which forced him to park up temporarily and lose 50 seconds on the timesheets.

A new lap record for the Superbike class at 135.970mph will have proved little consolation in the circumstances but further emphasised the Northern Irishman's pace on the big bikes.

The 35-year old did not have to wait long for his history-making win as he took victory in the Supertwins class and went on to claim first place in the second races of the week in both the Supertwin and Supersport categories on the final day of racing.

A fourth four-timer of his TT career for the Ballymoney rider, whose hopes of matching Ian Hutchinson's 14-year-old benchmark of five triumphs in a week fell short when he retired in lap one of the Senior race.

Having gone into the meeting still nursing a hand injury from a crash earlier in the season and unsure which bikes to compete on in the Supersport and Superbike classes, Dunlop can reflect with satisfaction on his landmark achievement, as well as extending his unbeaten run in the Supersport class to six races in a row and 13 victories overall.

Still in his prime by the standards of motorcycle road racing, the sky seems to be the limit for him to further emphasise his credentials as the most prolific exponent of racing over the demanding Mountain Course.

Davey Todd has long been singled out as a future TT winner and that potential was realised when the Yorkshireman held off a determined charge from 14-time victor Peter Hickman to claim a maiden success on his Milwaukee BMW in the Superstock race.

Todd had already notched a double on the machine at the North West 200 races in Northern Ireland and won the first two rounds of the British Superstock 1000cc championship as he began his bid to emulate his 2022 series success in the class.

The 28-year-old's hot streak of form continued into the TT with three other podium finishes bagged in addition to his Stocker victory, before leaving the best until last in the form of a win in the 'blue riband' Senior.

The fact that two of his main rivals did not finish - Dunlop with his mechanical gremlins and and Hickman crashing out unhurt at Ginger Hall on lap two while leading - did nothing to dull the exuberant celebrations with his TAS Racing team in the winners' enclosure as he took a popular win.

For the Northern Ireland-based outfit, run by father and son Hector and Philip Neill, it was a cherished first Senior race win for 20 years.

"It doesn't feel real. I got my first TT win a few days ago and we've been feeling good the whole time. I wanted to be in the battle for the win and I knew we had a chance with this one," said a delighted Todd.

"I can't wait until next year already. I can't believe we have 12 months to come back here again. I loved this TT. This is going to take a while to sink it, it's been a dream come true for me."

While much of the focus may have been on the two-wheel action, Manx sidecar crew Ryan and Callum Crowe grabbed their share of the headlines by clinching their first two wins at the meeting on three wheels.

After taking race one honours, the brothers, sons of five-time TT sidecar winner Nick Crowe, finished ahead of 14-time winner Ben Birchall and his new passenger Kevin Rousseau in the second race.

The pair became the first winners of a TT sidecar race other than Ben and Tom Birchall since 2016.

They also joined an elite club by becoming only the third crew to break the 120mph lap barrier, circulating at an average speed of 120.335mph on their Honda on their final lap of competition to emulate the feat achieved for the first time 12 months ago.

Delays and postponements played havoc with a race schedule which had been expanded from eight races to 10 for 2023 and beyond but ultimately nine of the 10 slated events were completed, albeit with race distances reduced in some cases.

The second Superstock race fell by the wayside, denying fans the opportunity of a possible rematch between Todd and Hickman following their titanic tussle in race one.

Hickman conceded that his sole victory of the week in the Superbike outing was 'gifted' to him somewhat after Dunlop's helmet misfortune but appeared on target to prove his pedigree once again in the Senior, before coming off.

He did however set a new lap record for the race from a standing start at 135.523 and while he did not enjoy his best week by his own high standards, he left with that first place and three seconds to show for his efforts.

Perennial rostrum finisher Dean Harrison showed his usual consistency by marking his first year in Honda Racing colours by picking up a second, three third positions and a fourth.

Dominic Herbertson was a maiden podium finisher in Supertwins race one while double British Superbike champion Josh Brookes lapped in excess of 134mph to seal his best TT result to date - runner-up spot in the Senior.