Honda Racing wins Superstock Race 1 at 2025 Isle of Man TT
Dean Harrison has claimed victory in the first Superstock race of the 2025 Isle of Man TT Race Week riding a Honda Fireblade. The Yorkshireman’s first victory for Honda Racing and fourth career TT win was delivered with an incredible average speed of 135.692 mph (218.375 km/h) on his final lap of the 37.7-mile Mountain Circuit.
Inclement weather conditions meant that the scheduled start time of 10:30 on Monday morning was pushed back by eight hours. On a clear and breezy evening, Honda Racing’s legendary 23-time TT winner John McGuinness led off on his Fireblade, shortly followed by Harrison, who pushed as hard as he could to grab the lead in the early sectors of the lap.
Climbing up the mountain that advantage was whittled away and became a 2.4-second deficit to Harrison’s nearest challenger, Davey Todd. However, on the flowing downhill run back towards Douglas, Harrison brought the gap down to just 0.4 seconds and then delivered a flawless second tour to seal victory by 11.656 seconds with McGuinness coming home in 16th.
There were scenes of jubilation as Harrison returned to the Winners’ Enclosure, not only from the Honda Racing team, but also among the huge crowd of spectators and his fellow competitors. Having come so close to winning in the Supersport and Superbike races, crowning his third race by lifting the trophy - his first victory since 2019 and Honda’s first since 2015 - became one of the most popular celebrations of the event so far.
Racing continues with Harrison back in the saddle for the second Supersport race on the Honda CBR600RR on Wednesday morning as the team’s next fixture to focus upon. For a full schedule of the event, please click here.
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Dean Harrison
“Honestly, I got the hammer down from the start and sort of read my pit boards and I got P1 at the first and then P2. I just really put everything into the bike, we’ve changed quite a few things and the changes we’ve made really worked so well and we’ve been dialling it in all week. I’ve been third, I’ve been second so now I’ve got a 3-2-1! And to get another TT win is just magic. Honestly, I can’t thank the team enough. We’ve worked hard all week and we’ve been up and been down and we’ve tried all sorts, so paying them back with a win is just fantastic. Honestly, them lot being happy makes me happy. I can’t thank them enough. It’s been a long time coming and now I’m a four-time TT winner, which is a big thing for me.”
John McGuinness MBE
“The bike never missed a beat and I felt that I was riding okay and when you look at it on paper it looks very average. But, taking the positives out of it, it’s another silver replica and my 113th finish. I’m a little disappointed. Weirdly, I think I’m going good but it’s not showing on the timesheets. It’s been a long old day with all the delays, so respect to the organisers, they got it right in the end. But, really, I’m just pleased for Dean and the team. I always knew that he could do it, but that was incredible pace. When he passed me on Lap 1 he was in another universe, and I’ve been around here a lot, so I was just like: ‘Go on, Dean, get stuck in!’ There’s two sides to the job, really, to be slightly disappointed with my result but over the moon for Dean and for Honda.”
Team Manager Havier Beltran
“We’re not racing a Superstock in our British Superbike Championship programme and to win with it here at the birthplace of Honda’s competition story, aside from our year-round competition programme, is amazing. It just shows that what we’ve got as a base bike is pretty incredible, and for Dean to do what he’s done here with it is testament to that. And testament to all the hard work that he and the team have put in to help develop it to where it is. It’s great to see as a manufacturer. Dean has always got on the bike and gone hard from the start, you can’t ask for any more than that. He is trying so hard and riding so well that it really had to come for him, he has been on the cusp for a while now and I think that this win is richly deserved.”
Team Principal Neil Fletcher
“The big picture for me is that this has been a programme that the team has been working on with Dean since he joined. He has worked so well with the team in developing the bike to where it is now and this year he’s just been on it from the start. He came so close to winning at the North West 200 last month, and came away with a good haul of trophies but the win was elusive. He’s right on the pace in the Supersport class at the British Superbike Championship. And now on the oldest and most prestigious stage in the sport he’s not only got podium finishes but he’s got this richly-deserved win with the rest of the team as testament to their hard work. Everyone around the paddock and out in the grandstands has been hoping to see him get this level of success, I’m delighted for the team here, those still working back at Louth and at our headquarters in Bracknell - several of whom are here and I’m sure will celebrate. A lot of sweat and tears have gone into it, but when you see the pure joy on Dean’s face, to achieve this result against such strong competition is fantastic.”
