- Dean Harrison clocked a stunning 133.925mph lap in opening qualifying
- Michael Dunlop immediately topped the Supersport leaderboard on the Ducati
- Sidecar qualifying ended early following an incident involving Maria Costello and Shaun Parker
Honda Racing UK’s Dean Harrison laid down an early marker at TT 2026 with the fastest-ever opening qualifying lap around the Mountain Course, while Michael Dunlop immediately stamped his authority on the Supersport class.
Qualifying properly got underway at the 2026 Isle of Man TT on Tuesday evening and it didn’t take long for Dean Harrison to show he means business this year.
After perfect weather greeted competitors around the 37¾-mile Mountain Course once again, the Honda Racing UK rider produced a blistering 133.925mph lap on his Superbike — officially the fastest lap ever recorded in an opening qualifying session at the TT.
Harrison wasted no time making his intentions clear. Leading the field away after a short delay to proceedings, the Ballaugh-based rider immediately looked comfortable at the front of the pack and opened with a first flying lap of 133.222mph from a standing start.
That alone would have been enough to top the timesheets, but Harrison went even quicker on his second lap, edging tantalisingly close to the outright lap record pace despite it only being the opening qualifying session of race week.
“It felt good,” Harrison said afterwards. “133s aren’t too bad at this stage of the week but we’ve some changes to make ahead of tomorrow.”
Dunlop Quickly Finds His Feet
Behind Harrison, Michael Dunlop immediately looked fast once again aboard the Hawk Racing Honda Fireblade, posting an opening lap of 130.341mph before returning to pit lane for setup changes to the front end of the bike.
Josh Brookes also impressed on the DAO Racing Honda, lapping at 130.197mph on his Superstock machine, while Nathan Harrison joined the 130mph club with a 130.010mph lap on the H&H Motorcycles Honda.
Peter Hickman initially circulated on his 8TEN Racing BMW Superstock machine before diving into the pits to switch over to his Superbike.
Kiwi Mitch Rees completed two laps on his Superstock bike posting a fastest speed of 122.882 with a best lap time of 18:25.354.
Supersport Battle Already Heating Up
Once the Superbike and Superstock session concluded, attention quickly turned to the Supersport and Sportbike classes — and Michael Dunlop immediately reminded everyone why he remains the benchmark in the middleweight category.
Ian Hutchinson briefly topped the Supersport leaderboard with a lap of 123.538mph on the Burrows Engineering Ducati, but Dunlop soon blew past that with a 125.955mph lap on the Scars Racing Ducati.
And then he went quicker again.
Dunlop’s second lap of 126.922mph already suggests he’ll once again be the rider everyone is chasing in Supersport this year.
Peter Hickman slotted into second on the Swan Triumph by PHR Performance, while Paul Jordan and Nathan Harrison also featured strongly early in the week.
Dean Harrison’s Supersport session was less straightforward after a problem with the pit limiter on his Honda CBR600RR-R forced him back into pit lane shortly after heading out.
Sportbike Honours Go To Jordan
In the Sportbike category, Mike Browne initially set the pace on the Melbray/Laycock Racing Paton with a lap of 119.097mph.
Jamie Coward responded with a slightly faster second lap at 119.199mph on the Milenco by Padgetts Paton, but it was Paul Jordan who eventually ended the evening quickest overall with a 120.208mph lap on his Aprilia.
Italian rider Andrea Majola also impressed with speeds approaching 118mph on the Majo Road Racing Team Paton.
Sidecar Session Ends Early
The evening concluded with the Sidecars, where Ryan and Callum Crowe immediately showed that the new restrictor plate regulations may not slow them down as much as some expected.
The lap record holders blasted around at 118.224mph from a standing start, comfortably ahead of Peter Founds/Jevan Walmsley and Ben Birchall/Mark Wilkes.
However, the session was eventually red-flagged following an incident involving Maria Costello MBE and passenger Shaun Parker at Brandish during their second lap.
Costello was reported conscious and talking following the accident and was taken to Noble’s Hospital by Airmed with reported head injuries. Passenger Shaun Parker was also conscious and talking, suffering reported arm and leg injuries before being transported to hospital by ambulance for further assessment.
