Peter Hickman wins the opening race at the TT on Dunlop

• Hickman wins his third IOMTT race.

• Dunlop continues its success at IOMTT.

Riding for Smiths Racing BMW, Peter Hickman won the shortened Isle of Man TT RST Superbike TT race.

Hickman finished 1.7 seconds ahead of Dean Harrison, with fellow Dunlop rider Conor Cummins finishing 7.5 seconds back in third place.

Riding on Dunlop tyres, Hickman showed race winning pace from the start, setting purple sectors to close down the early leader, Dean Harrison.

Peter Hickman said: “The bike was working good, we’ve had very little practice this week. To get the first big bike win out of the way is fantastic. I felt like I was strong to Glen Helen on the first lap…for me, that was a really good start to the race.”

The two riders battled for the lead, Harrison set an opening lap of 132.48mph, Harrison led Hickman by just one second with Cummins still in third but now 4.8s behind the BMW rider.

However, in the second lap, Hickman used his superior speed over the Mountain to close the gap to just 0.045secs. But after the only pit stop, Hickman led Harrison by 1.7secs and continued to lead albeit just ahead of Harrison.

The red flag halted any challenge for the lead, as Hickman was declared the winner at the end of lap 2.

Hickman currently holds the lap and race records in the Superbike class, so it was no surprise that he set the fastest lap of the race at 132.95 mph.

The new Dunlop tyres, KR 108, has been designed to heat up faster and give the riders more confidence and grip at the start of the race. This is particularly important in the challenging conditions at the TT.

Dunlop’s Road Racing Event Leader, Pat Walsh said: “The tyres worked very well as expected, we monitored the tyres because of the changeable conditions we have had over the last few days but they performed really well. It was great for us to see Peter making some strong moves, alongside Connor on the Milenco by Padgetts Honda who was riding exceptionally.”

Dunlop Europe is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of tyres with an impressive track record of motorsport successes. Dunlop Europe is a technical partner of Suzuki Endurance Race Team and Honda Racing in motorcycle Endurance World Championship Racing, the official tyre supplier to the FIM Moto2 and Moto3 World Championship and the most successful tyre brand in the history of the Isle of Man TT. Off-road, Dunlop is the choice of MXGP race winners and champions. On four wheels, Dunlop is the most successful tyre manufacturer in the history of the Le Mans 24h race.