Peter Hickman crowned a superb return to form over the latter half of the 2023 Isle of Man TT as he clinched the blue riband Senior TT for his fourth victory of the week.

An impressive return to prominence for the Louth rider, Hickman came into this year's event as a clear favourite to extend his winning streak from 2019 and 2022, only to find himself overshadowed during the first-half of the week by an in-form Michael Dunlop.

Putting him on the cusp of Joey Dunlop's all-time TT record, Dunlop appeared to lose his momentum in all the fanfare and attention. By contrast, Hickman's momentum gathered mometum as the week wore on, leading to two Superstock TT wins, a surprise Supertwins TT triumph, a massive new lap record of 136.513mph, and now his commanding Senior TT win.

Taking control of the race from lap one, though Hickman was made to work hard by a determined Dean Harrison throughout, the Monster Energy FHO Racing rider didn't put a wheel wrong, holding his nerve to take the flag with a winning margin at 21s.

After a series of third place results this week, Harrison saved his best for last with a strong run to second on the DAO Kawasaki, leaving Dunlop in his wake as the Ulsterman struggled to rediscover the performance he'd shown on the Hawk Racing Honda earlier in the week.

It means Dunlop and Hickman end the TT on four wins each, the former forced to wait until next year to get the elusive victory he needs to match his uncle's record, while the latter cements his status as one of the event's most successful competitors by raising his tally to 13 TT wins.

How it started, how it finished for Hickman

It has been a TT of two halves for Hickman this year.

The rise of Dunlop at a time when it seemed no-one could get near Hickman seemed to unsettle the BMW rider, leading him to disappear into the background during the first few races.

Indeed, Hickman has developed a huge global brand around his TT dominance in recent years and there was little indication ahead of the 2023 event that he was facing a stiff challenge. However, as soon as Dunlop broke the lap record ahead of race week, the spotlight had very much shifted away from Hickman.

Coupled with Dunlop making headlines by chasing Joey's suddenly vulnerable records and Hickman couldn't get into his rhythm early in the week, with steady opening laps leaving him with too much to do by the time he'd built up a head of steam in the closing stages.

However, by mid-week, the tides were turning. Indeed, if Dunlop had Supersport covered, then Hickman was the man in Superstock. With a Supertwins win each - Hickman's in strange circumstances - the event-concluding Senior TT was therefore seen as a showdown between the giants of the week.

In reality though each rider's form seemed to be heading in opposite directions from one another with Dunlop starring while Hickman struggled and vice versa. While they might have met in the middle somewhere around the start-line for the Senior TT, Hickman quickly made it clear this was his race to lose.

Already +4.7s up by the time the field had reached Ramsey, Hickman continued to build on his advantage around lap one, flashing across the line with a 135.349mph average from a standing start. He was also +6.1s ahead now, but it was Harrison - rather than Dunlop - taking up the fight.

Indeed, Dunlop ended the first lap some +10s adrift of Hickman, a margin that would only multiply over the course of the six tours round.

To his credit, Harrison wouldn't let Hickman rest on his laurels, keeping the gap between them to under +10s through the first half of the race. However, by the time the riders had completed their second pit-stop at the end of lap four, Hickman simply had to keep it neat and tidy to secure the win.

Taking the flag +21s clear of the DAO Kawasaki man by the flag, this was a redemptive win for a relieved Hickman.

Finally getting to stride up to a higher step on the podium following a run of five third place results, Harrison ended his TT week strongly in second, with Dunlop bringing it round safely to complete the top three as his record-bid is forced to wait another twelve months.

Elsewhere, though he found himself at the wrong end of a vast 90s gap to Dunlop ahead, Conor Cummins secured fourth on the Milenco by Padgetts Honda, successfully resisting a spirited challenge by Josh Brookes on the second of the Monster Energy FHO Racing BMW M 1000 RRs.

A TT comeback showing huge potential, Brookes enjoyed a strong end to the event, with fifth in the Senior TT coming after an identical result in Superstock TT and his first podium in the Supertwins TT.

Behind him, James Hillier yo-yo'd between fifth and eighth over the course of the race before recovering to sixth at the flag on the OMG Yamaha. He finished ahead of Honda's John McGuinness in seventh and C&L Fairburn Jackson Honda's David Johnson eighth, with the top ten completed Davey Todd in ninth and Rob Hodson in tenth.

2023 Isle of Man TT - Senior TT FULL RESULTS