Peter Hickman set a new fastest lap during the Superbike qualifying session at the Isle of Man TT on Tuesday. However, Isle of Man TT officials said the lap does not count as an official record because only race laps qualify for official lap records.
Peter Hickman, the current outright lap record holder at the Isle of Man TT, posted a fastest lap during Tuesday’s Superbike qualifying session. However, Isle of Man TT officials clarified that this performance does not count as an official lap record, as only laps set during races are recognized for record purposes. According to the official TT lap and race records page, qualifying laps—even if faster than existing records—are not eligible to be recorded as official TT lap records.
Peter Hickman holds the outright Senior lap record with an average speed of 136.358 mph, set on the 37.73-mile Mountain Course in 2023.
Hickman holds the outright Senior lap record with an average speed of 136.358 mph, set on the 37.73-mile Mountain Course in 2023. This record lap time of 16 minutes, 36.115 seconds was achieved on a BMW M 1000 RR for the Monster Energy by FHO Racing team during the RL360 Superstock Race 2, according to official TT documentation. The same lap also stands as the Superstock class lap record. These figures represent the fastest average lap speed in Isle of Man TT history as of the latest official records.
In contrast, the official Superbike class lap record is held by Michael Dunlop, who recorded a lap time of 16 minutes, 38.953 seconds at an average speed of 135.970 mph in 2024 on a Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SC82. This distinction means that while Hickman holds the outright and Superstock records, Dunlop is the current official Superbike lap record holder. The TT database maintains these distinctions, underscoring that lap records are class-specific and must be set during races to be official.
During the 2026 Superbike qualifying sessions, Hickman posted laps with average speeds around 131.3 mph, according to reports from the Isle of Man TT organizers and qualifying highlights. A penultimate qualifying report noted Hickman topping Superbike Qualifying 2 with a lap of 131.328 mph on his BMW. These qualifying speeds are significantly slower than his 2023 outright lap record of 136.358 mph and Dunlop’s 2024 Superbike race record of 135.970 mph. As a result, no new official lap records were set during the 2026 qualifying sessions.
Other riders also posted notable qualifying speeds in 2026. Dean Harrison lapped at 135.484 mph on a Superstock bike, just 0.4 mph below Hickman’s outright record, and recorded Superbike qualifying laps of 133.653 mph and 134.877 mph, which were described as the fastest of the week at one point. A Superbike qualifying speed table listed Harrison in first place with a lap of 134.877 mph, while Hickman was second with 132.712 mph. These figures indicate that Harrison, not Hickman, held the fastest Superbike qualifying lap during that session.
The official Isle of Man TT lap and race records page does not list any new outright or Superbike lap records for 2026. It explicitly states that qualifying laps cannot be official records, reinforcing that any “qualifying lap record” remains unofficial. Available 2026 qualifying reports confirm Hickman’s Superbike laps ranged between 131 and 132.7 mph, slower than the existing official records.
Peter Hickman’s status as the current outright TT lap record holder is based on his 2023 race lap, while Michael Dunlop remains the official Superbike lap record holder from 2024. The distinction between race and qualifying laps is maintained by TT officials and documented in the official records. As qualifying laps are excluded from official record consideration, Hickman’s fastest qualifying lap in 2026 is recognized as a session best but not an official TT lap record.
