Peter Hickman and Michael Dunlop to lead UK firm’s charge on the TT’s next-generation Supersport class
SPORTS EDITOR
The Triumph 765 has become the bike of choice at TT 2024 with top riders switching from Japanese machinery to the British powerhouse. For Peter Hickman it will be more of the same, having campaigned the Triumph since 2017 with plenty of success, including one win and eight further Supersport podiums.
The big news for 2024 is that Michael Dunlop, the man who’s won the last four Supersport TTs and became the first man to set a 130mph lap in the class, looks set to swap his proven Yamaha R6 for the Triumph. Dunlop is still down on the entry list riding an R6 but ran the Triumph at the North West 200.
And in a surprising turn of events, if he does run the Triumph, it will be his main rival Hickman preparing his engine. The reason for that is that Hickman’s PHR outfit is the official engine builder for the Triumph factory, meaning that any engine destined for racing (excluding Moto2) goes through his workshop – even Michael Dunlop’s.
Speaking to MCN, Hickman said: “There’s a lot more people on Triumphs this year and we’re building Michael’s engine, which is a strange situation. We don’t have a choice because my contract is with Triumph and that says that if it’s a next-generation Supersport engine for an official event – Daytona, IDM, WSS, BSS, TT – my company builds it. We’ve done around 25 engines so far this year.”
Has to be a fair fight
From the outside it seems bizarre, the equivalent of Bagnaia building Marquez’s engine in MotoGP, but Hickman is at pains to clarify that neither man will have any advantage when it comes to the spec of the three-cylinder unit.
“Every engine is built the same,” Hickman explained. “They have to be the same because it’s a spec engine. I can’t make mine better than his or anyone else’s because if I did that I’d be breaking my contract for a start – and it’s also my reputation on the line.
“Plus, on a personal level I want to beat Michael on the same thing that I’ve got. I want to know his engine is the same as mine. People think I’m going to have something that they haven’t got, but every engine has to be the same.
“In terms of the racing it’s going to be interesting. There are going to be a lot of Triumphs. I did a 130mph lap on one and, by my own admission, I’m not the best Supersport r
