Ian Hutchinson gave the Penrith-based Paul Bird Motorsport Team their first Isle of Man TT race victory since 2000 when the Bingley rider won this afternoon's RL360 Superstock TT race in record breaking style coming home over 17 seconds ahead of Michael Dunlop to score his tenth TT victory.

It was Dunlop who set the early pace but his lead over Hutchy's PBM Kawasaki was only 1.6 seconds at the end of the first lap with both riders lapping close to 130mph. Second time round and Dunlop increased his lead to two seconds but the PBM Team had an ace up their sleeve and changed the rear wheel of the ZX-10R in super fast time at the solitary pit stop.

With increased rear grip, the 35-year-old Yorkshireman took control and by Glen Helen, on lap three he'd overturned the deficit into a 2.7 second advantage, a lead he continued to increase over the course of the 37.73-mile lap. Indeed, going into the final lap, the gap to Dunlop was almost ten seconds and with a stunning final lap of 130.924mph, Hutchinson was able to claim victory over Dunlop by 17.2 seconds. Such was his pace; his four-lap time was some 32 seconds inside the old lap record and gave the team their first TT victory since Joey Dunlop won the Formula One race in 2000.

Ian Hutchinson:

"In the four years I've been out, Michael's been the man to beat so to win today and get the better of him makes the win extra special. I've worked really hard and all the time I've spent in the gym over winter getting fit has paid off although I was a bit unsure about our chances when the team told me about the wheel change. Every rider will tell you that having a wheel change is an incredibly scary thing but fair play to Sam Neate, he did a mega job and it gave the initiative I needed. It was always going to be the hardest race of the week but the team did a fantastic job and there was no panic or drama as far as that was concerned. I was worried as I started running low on fuel at the Bungalow on the last lap so I drafted John McGuinness down the Mountain to conserve it and I was also on the path at Bedstead one lap so it wasn't all plain sailing."

Paul Bird, Team Owner:

"I'm chuffed to bits with today's win and especially pleased for Ian. It's a big ask for the Kawasaki going against the BMW in Superstock-spec but we worked things out and thought changing the tyre would give us the advantage we needed. Ian kept in touch with Michael in those first two laps and the new tyre was a big factor in the win. Full credit to the boys in the team and after all the effort Ian's put in to get back racing competitively, no-one deserves it more." 

Hutchinson will be in action on the PBM Kawasaki in the PokerStars Senior TT over six laps on Friday

Ian Hutchinson took victory in today's Superstock TT (top) and celebrating with team owner Paul Bird afterwards

Pictures (courtesy of Jon Jessop):