Peter Hickman (Trooper Beer Smiths Triumph) and Lee Johnston (Ashcourt Racing Yamaha)

battled it out for victory in the Supersport race at the Ulster Grand Prix.

Man of the moment Peter Hickman clinched a double with a last-gasp Supersport win at the Ulster Grand Prix yesterday following an epic tussle with Lee Johnston.

The pair were locked in battle throughout the five-lap race, swapping places at the front as they broke away from Dean Harrison and Davey Todd, who were involved in a duel of their own for third.

Fermanagh man Johnston, who was aiming to complete a full set of major international Supersport wins after scaling the top step at the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT, had a cushion of half-a-second over Hickman after the opening lap.

He managed to keep the Ashcourt Racing Yamaha in front until lap three, when Hickman moved ahead on the Trooper Beer Smiths Triumph.

However, the pendulum swung in Johnston’s favour again as the 30-year-old retook the lead going on to the fourth lap with Hickman breathing down his neck.

There was huge disappointment for Todd on the Milenco by Padgett’s Honda, who was forced to pull out with a machine problem.

That left Harrison safe in third but all eyes were on the battle for the lead with nothing between Johnston and Harrison going on to the final lap.

Johnston held sway but Hickman made a pass into Wheeler’s, only for Johnston to return the favour into Tornagrough.

The pair were side by side on the run from the hairpin to the finish but it was Hickman who managed to squeeze through on the factory-supported Triumph to seal a brace following his earlier record-breaking Superbike success.

Behind Harrison in third, Jamie Coward (Prez Racing Yamaha) held off Conor Cummins (Milenco by Padgett’s Honda) for fourth, with Paul Jordan rounding out the first six on the Dafabet Devitt Yamaha.