Hickman Dunlop McGuinness: 2023 Senior TT In Their Words

An absolutely epic fortnight of racing was capped off by a record breaking Senior TT. Monster Energy FHO Racing rider Peter Hickman scored a record-breaking Senior TT win, to record his 13th career TT victory.

After overcoming technical issues with his fire spitting BMW Superbike - which had plagued him throughout race week, Hicky took charge of the race from the start and maintained his lead throughout the entire six laps; setting a new Senior race lap record of 135.507mph in the process.

The 36-year-old's eventual winning margin over Dean Harrison was 19.98 seconds, with Michael Dunlop crossing the line in a hard fought third position. Although not on the top step of the podium - Dunlop can come away from this year’s TT with his head held high, having won four races during race week to sit on 25 career TT victories overall.
 

TT legend John McGuinness also capped off a solid two weeks of racing around the fearsome Snaefell Mountain Course. Drawing on all of his experience, McGuinness set his quickest lap of the entire event, a sensational lap of 17:15.408, during the Senior TT with an average lap speed of 131.183 mph. With 108 TT starts and 23 wins to his name, McGuinness’ status as a TT legend is forever set; however recording such a blistering pace during the six lap Senior TT - the longest of the fortnight - is truly remarkable.

Don't just take our word for it however - keep scrolling to read the reaction from the riders themselves, straight after the race…
 

Peter Hickman - 1st - 2023 Senior TT:
“Well that was f***ing awesome! The Senior TT is done and dusted, and I’m very happy. The Monster Energy FHO Racing Team have literally worked tirelessly to get the bike working how I needed it to work, and finally this morning it all came together. We did the warm up lap, which I didn't really want to do, but before I even got to the bottom of Bray Hill, I had a massive sigh of relief and I finally knew I could ride it - rather than it riding me haha! It’s never the nicest feeling if the bike isn't working around here - 37.73 miles and over 260 corners in one lap; things can get challenging pretty quickly. I think a lot of people were making excuses last Sunday - but the truth is I’m just an honest person, so if I say I have an issue, then I’ll say so.

“This year has been a tough one in the Superbike class. I think we really showed what we can do in the Superstock class. But in the Senior it was a great fight - I was glad to see Dean (Harrison) got out of the right side of bed, and gave us a run for our money. Michael (Dunlop) has been super fast for the last two weeks too, which has been absolutely fantastic. Healthy competition is what this is all about - the fact that everyone is pushing us along is what we want, and it just spurs us on to come along again next year and have another go at it!”
 

Michael Dunlop - 3rd - 2023 Senior TT:
“I expected the pace to be hot during the final, and it really was. I lost a lot of time in the pits on the first lap, and that created quite a gap to try and make up. Ultimately we couldn't quite dial it in enough to bring that time back down. Peter and Dean have been really quick all week - and I expected the pace to be humongous during the SeniorTT. The way the week has been going - especially with Peter doing what he did on the stocker, I thought - s**t, we've got work to go harder here. It’s been a few wins this week - so overall a good TT! A big thankyou to all the boys in my team, sponsors and fans for their support!”
 

John McGuinness - 7th - 2023 Senior TT:
“From the drop of the flag it was ‘make no mistakes, hit every apex and enjoy every minute of it.’ It’s not many times you can do six laps around here, so you have to talk to yourself, keep concentrating and remember to breathe! It’s a long tough race this. My leathers are hanging off me now! I reckon I’ve lost five kilos this week. My neck is sore, but everyone will be sore, if they say they’re not they are lying. The atmosphere out there was incredible and I’ve done a lot of TT’s, that’s my 108th TT start. The result is seventh in a cracking good field made up of BSB riders at the top of their game. I just enjoyed it, the boys did a mint job in the pits, I messed up not having it in neutral but the boys didn’t panic and they sorted that out!

My highlight is seeing the team happy, seeing everyone out there having a good time. For me, that means a lot. I get to do the fun bit and they have to do the stress bit, preparing the bikes. The whole thing has been fantastic, right back from testing in Spain, all the riding and racing in Superstock, visiting bike dealers and doing the shows, I’ve loved every minute of it and I wish I could do it all again tomorrow. After this event, it’s such a big hole to fill.”