Friday's Isle of Man TT Race Preview

Senior Day dawns on the Isle of Man, and this national holiday is far from a day-off for the riders.

With six laps of the fearsome Mountain Course, the top riders will have just over 100 minutes to etch their names in the history books. The list of past winners is a who’s who of road racing, and brings to a close two weeks of helter skelter action at the road racing capital of the world.

Mike Hailwood and John McGuiness are the most successful riders in the history of the Senior, with seven wins apiece, but with only two active riders, Michael Dunlop and Ian Hutchinson, having claimed a win in the blue ribbon race, we could see a new victor added to the 45 names on the winners list.

On Saturday, Michael Dunlop claimed victory in the RST Superbike TT race, and while the Northern Irishman has added two more victories this week, he will face stiff competition on Friday.

Outright lap record holder Dean Harrison will be keen to assert himself on the field, while Peter Hickman is fresh from his first career TT victory.

There is a gulf between the leading trio and the rest of the field, but over 225 miles of racing awaits the field and an awful lot can happen in that time.

Conor Cummins carries with him the expectations of a nation, and has already enjoyed a successful TT 2018, while the likes of James Hillier will be under pressure to compete for the victory.

David Johnson, Michael Rutter, and Lee Johnston will be out to contend, but will likely have to be happy with a top five finish at best.

The Senior TT is the race everyone wants to win, and while Dunlop has claimed a trio of victories, he’ll know that adding a fourth win, and a 19^th career victory, will be the sweetest one yet.

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Be sure to follow all of our 2018 Isle of Man TT racing coverage this fortnight.