Michael Dunlop and Hawk Racing were denied a famous win at the Isle of Man TT on Sunday, despite the Northern Irish rider recording the fastest ever lap of the legendary course during the RST Superbike race.

Dunlop appeared well set for a victory that would have made him the outright leader on the all-time TT winners list, having equalled the record of 26 wins held by his late uncle Joey the previous day.

Resuming his partnership with Hawk in the superbike class - a combination that has brought six TT wins to date - Dunlop began setting an electric pace including a new lap record on the second of the six 37-mile laps.

That put him in the lead at the half-way stage before a problem with his replacement visor forced him to pull over shortly after his pit stop in order to refit the visor before resuming the race.

There was no way of making up the time that cost him against a high calibre field, although Dunlop continued to get incredible performance from the Hawk Racing Honda. He again set a new lap record on his last lap before finishing in fourth place.

Steve Hicken, Hawk Racing’s team manager, said: “Michael was outstanding on the bike and we’re absolutely devastated not to have taken the win.

“The TT is an event where you almost expect the unexpected and the issue with his visor is certainly not something we’ve seen before or would expect to see again.

“We’re gutted as a team and gutted for Michael but also need to look at the positives and to break the lap record not once but twice was a huge achievement.

“It shows we’ve got the potential to finish the week on a high in the Senior TT, which is exactly what we’ll be aiming to do.”

Dunlop will be back on board the Hawk Racing Honda for the Milwaukee Senior TT, which starts at 11.45am on Saturday.