Michael Dunlop has taken his third career TT victory in this evening's second Monster Supersport TT, leading from lap one after his brother William retired to head Australian Cameron Donald across the line with Ryan Farquhar bagging third ahead of Bruce Anstey by 0.01s.
The Ballymoney man was pushed hard by Donald, on the Wilson Craig Honda, who closed the gap to six seconds on lap three, but he then pushed on again to increase the lead even though his breather pipe came off the airbox and all he could smell was fuel all the way from lap two. Anstey came back at Farquhar on the last lap but he was slower by the smallest of margins.
As it has been all week, John McGuinness left first but he had been usurped at Glen Helen by William Dunlop who led by more than two seconds but then cruelly retired at Kirk Michael. It handed his younger brother a lead that he kept to the line but the interest was in the podium positions.
Donald was four seconds behind Dunlop at the Bungalow with Bruce Anstey 11.94s in arrears, McGuinness 13.1s back and Farquhar 15.91 after taking fifth from James Hillier, who clearly loves the run from St Ninians's to Glen Helen.
The race was never at the front, however, as Donald consistently pulled time on Anstey but he very soon had Farquhar for company as the Irishman pulled back time on McGuinness. As they went into Glen Helen on lap three, Farquhar pushed past McGuinness into fourth and was less than two seconds down on the Kiwi at the Bungalow.
At the grandstand, Farquhar was ahead of the Padgett's man by half a second which was two seconds at Glen Helen. The gap remained as they went up the Mountain but Anstey found some speed into Cronk-Y-Voddy but it wasn't enough, losing out by the narrowest of margins as McGuinness followed them across the line in fifth place.
Ian Hutchinson rallied late on to take sixth place just ahead of Hillier. Guy Martin sank to eighth, Dan Stewart was ninth and Dan Cooper will be over the moon with his tenth place. Roy Richardson finished in 11th, veteran Ian Lougher 12th, Dean Harrison 13th, Ivan Lintin 14th and Ben Wylie 15th.
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