Former MCE British Superbike star Peter Hickman was the talk of the TT paddock after the first night's opening practice session, with the Lincolnshire rider setting the fastest ever lap recorded by a newcomer on the first night.

The Ice Valley by Motorsave BMW rider posted a personal best of 115.103mph and was left almost speechless after his first experience of the Mountain Course. He eclipsed Josh Brookes’ best from last year of 114.6mph.

"Mint, mega. It's an awesome place to ride round and it's genuinely difficult to find the words to describe it. Doing 190mph down a public road is just an unreal experience but most of all it was a really enjoyable experience. I felt really comfortable out there and didn't push at all, just concentrating on riding round and learning as much as I can,” said Hickman, speaking to bikesportnews.com today.

After completing his speed-controlled newcomer's lap, Hickman opened his account for the night with a lap of 109.04mph before following it up with two laps in excess of 115mph, 115.03 and the slightly quicker 115.103 also benefitting from a spell behind the Supersport-mounted Michael Rutter.

"It's a different experience on closed roads compared to the laps I've done on open roads as obviously you can use both sides of the road and, more importantly, there's nothing coming the other way! There are bumps on the road that I never realised were there - Ginger Hall to Ramsey is a nightmare - and I need to work out where they are and where to position myself on the circuit. I made no mistakes last night and got in three good laps whilst it was good when Michael came by as I could sit in behind him and learn a good few things.

"I'm really enjoying the first part of the course, up to Greeba and Ballacraine whilst Laurel Bank through to Glen Helen were tricky last night as it's hard to judge the lines. It's all part of the learning curve though so I just want to keep banging in the laps and learning as much as I possibly can on each and every lap."