2022 Isle of Man TT | Hickman caps off dominant TT with fourth win on Senior TT
Peter Hickman collects his fourth win of the week on the Senior TT as a thrilling but fatality-marred 2022 Isle of Man TT came to its conclusion
Peter Hickman became only the third rider in Isle of Man TT history to achieve four victories in a single event as he cruised to success on the festival-concluding Senior TT.
The odds-on favourite to notch up his third win of the week aboard BMW M 1000 RR machinery after topping the podium in the Superbike and Superstock races, the Gas Monkey FHO Racing rider was again on another level to his rivals in the blue riband Senior TT.
Indeed, while Dean Harrison - who once more proved his only realistic competition - was quickest down to Glen Helen for the first time, Hickman regained control from Ballaugh Bridge to establish a lead he’d multiply steadily over the ensuing four laps to a peak of 19.8secs.
From here, Hickman eased off the throttle to protect his bike to the flag, three years after technical issues robbed him victory on the 2019 Senior TT.
There would be no repeat this time though, Hickman coming across to Grandstand for the sixth and final time with a winning margin of 16.9secs.
While his bid for a record six solo wins came undone in the Supersport races - both of which were won by Michael Dunlop - Hickman’s Senior TT success was still his fourth win of the week, as well as his sixth podium.
It means he is one of only three riders to have achieved four race wins in a single Isle of Man TT, together with Philip McCallen (four wins in 1996) and Ian Hutchinson, who achieved the record of five wins in 2010.
Though he had no answer to Hickman and didn’t top the podium over the course of the week, second for Harrison still marked a strong haul of four rostrums for the Kawasaki man.
The fight for third place, meanwhile, went right down to the wire as Milenco by Padgetts Honda team-mates Conor Cummins and Davey Todd tussled for the final spot on the podium. After swapping positions early on, Cummins looked to have gotten the hammer down coming into the final lap, only to come up against a renewed attack from Todd in the last miles.
With the younger rider getting the margin right down to just 0.107secs by Ballaugh, it was the incentive Cummins needed to up his pace, the Manxman grabbing third by just two seconds.
More than two minutes off the leading pace, Michael Dunlop - the standout beyond Hickman this week - collected a fifth place finish on the Hawk-prepared Suzuki, while James Hillier bounced back from a tough week to score a sixth for OMG Yamaha.
Ian Hutchinson completed an injury-free week with a seventh aboard the Milwaukee BMW, ahead of Jamie Coward and John McGuinness on the factory Honda.
Having stolen the headlines with his run to eighth in the Superbike TT last weekend, there was less fortune for Glenn Irwin in the Senior TT as he retired with technical issues while running tenth. His exit, however, gave another impressive debutant to shine as Nathan Harrison capped off his rookie week with a top ten finish on his Honda.