Dunlop proves his mettle on island

The 21-year-old also lapped at a phenomenal 130.213mph on Gareth Robinson's Honda Fireblade to cap a sensational performance on his way to second place behind race winner Ian Hutchinson from Yorkshire.

"I just kept plugging away and practice was very bad for us on the Superbike because we couldn't get it to handle, so I think that Uel (Duncan) and all the lads were gobsmacked to see their bike on the podium here because of the problems we had with the handling," said the Ballymoney rider.

"It just goes to show how a couple of clicks can turn the world right around.

"The track was dirty on the first lap and there were a few slides here and there, but that's the way we like it because it keeps the heart going."

Relentless TAS Suzuki's Cameron Donald claimed the final rostrum position in third after storming through the field following a mistake on the first lap that left him languishing in 13th place.

Race favourite John McGuinness and long-time leader Conor Cummins were both forced out with machine trouble.

The action continues on the Isle of Man today with the Monster Energy Supersport 'A' and Royal London 360 Superstock races, due off at 10.45am and 2.15pm respectively.

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