A fourth trophy from four races has been collected by Honda Racing and its rider Dean Harrison after the second and final Supersport race at this year’s Isle of Man TT. Second place was the reward earned by hard work and a supremely committed ride in one of the hardest-fought categories in the motorcycle racing world.

Harrison started third on the road but gradually worked his way to the front of the field, from which he was free to ride without distractions and pick his lines through all 264 bends on the 37.73-mile Mountain Course.

An immaculate pit stop for fuel only at the end of the second lap took Harrison’s crew just 50 seconds to complete, then two more laps saw him come home in second place. Some wear on the chain tensioner caused Harrison some concern in the final section of the race, but his pace was undiminished and his fastest lap was at an average of 127.221 mph.

There will be a rest day for the riders on Thursday, followed by the closing races for Harrison and team-mate John McGuinness MBE on Friday and Saturday on their Honda Fireblade machines.

Dean Harrison

“I didn’t get the best of starts to be fair, not my normal fast start. I was a bit steady from the start, and so I read my pit boards and I knew that Michael was going to be the man to beat today. I just wasn’t sure who the battle was going to be with for second. So I got stuck in a bit, just watching my pit boards through the whole race, really. I had a bit of a technical problem with the bike going onto the last lap. I don’t think it would have changed the end result of where we were but I was a bit worried that we might not get to the end. We had a little problem every time we shut the throttle so I was just praying and praying and praying that I didn’t want to stop so I’m over the moon to get second.”

Team Manager Havier Beltran

“Two podiums from two races brings our Supersport campaign at this year’s TT to a close. I don’t think that anyone has ridden a bike harder and faster than Dean has done on the CBR600RR these past two weeks. He has put absolutely everything into it and the speed he has conjured to stay int he battle for victory in such a competitive class has been incredibly impressive. The team has worked hard to find the sort of pace that Dean has needed and there is a lot to look forward to now for our Supersport campaign in the British Superbike Championship based on what we have learnt from running here at the TT.”