The Ulster GP is the world's fastest road race... again

The Ulster GP has reclaimed its place as the world’s fastest road race. It’s thanks to a scintillating 136.415mph average lap from Peter Hickman, the man whose 135.452mph lap at the Isle of Man TT has been usurped.

It’s the cherry on top of victory in Ulster 2019’s first Superbike race, in which Hickman edged Dean Harrison, the man he’s regularly traded road racing wins – and lap records – with in recent years.

“Dundrod is one of the best circuits in the world,” Hickman told Top Gear at last year’s Ulster GP. “It’s really untouched compared to other circuits, it’s exactly as it was designed to be. Fast, flowing… it’s just mint.

“A lap record is just a by-product, though. You win the race at the slowest possible pace, in theory. You don’t need to win by a minute. You need to win by a second. Or half a second.

“If everyone else is riding really fast it pushes the speeds up and so the lap times come down. I only broke the lap record at the TT because I needed to.”

It’s a feeling Harrison echoed when we spoke to him recently. “The Ulster record will only be broken when the conditions are right. There has to be two people or three people that are so close together that they’re pushing each other in a battle to get the win.”

Should weather allow, though, there’s every chance the two will be swapping record times again come Ulster’s second Superbike race on Saturday…

We delve into the unhinged world of road racing