Peter Hickman produced a sensational 136mph lap to hand the title of the world’s fastest road race back to the Ulster Grand Prix.

The Smiths BMW rider, who had given the mantle to the Isle of Man TT after a lap record of 135.452mph in the 2018 Senior race, upped the ante to a staggering 136.415mph as he dominated the opening Superbike race at Dundrod on Thursday.

Former UGP lap record holder Dean Harrison (134.614mph) led the race on the opening laps, but Hickman took over at the start of lap three and pulled clear as he obliterated the record, opening a gap of 3.2 seconds over Harrison.

He extended his lead to 5.6 seconds at the end of the fourth lap when the race was red-flagged. Fortunately, the rider involved did not sustain any serious injuries.

A result was declared with Hickman taking the honours in dazzling style from Harrison, with Manx rider Conor Cummins filling the rostrum in third on the Milenco by Padgett’s Honda.

Lee Johnston was the top Northern Ireland rider in fourth on the Ashcourt Racing BMW.

Davey Todd was a strong fifth on the Wepol/Penz13.com BMW after only managing a few laps on the machine in qualifying, while Aussie David Johnson finished sixth on the Honda Racing Fireblade.

Derek Sheils was seventh on the Burrows Engineering/RK Racing Suzuki ahead of Jamie Coward (Prez Racing Yamaha).

Michael Dunlop withdrew from the race but intends to compete on Saturday in the Superstock and Superbike classes.