MICHAEL DUNLOP TO RIDE TWO FLITWICK MOTORCYCLES /SMV SUPPORTED ROYAL ENFIELDS AT THE 2026 CLASSIC TT
36-time TT winner Michael Dunlop will return to the Historic Senior class for the first time in nine years at this year’s Classic TT, campaigning the 500cc Royal Enfield Bullet, one of the most distinctive machines in the Historic Senior category. Dunlop’s programme with Flitwick Motorcycles/SMV will also extend to the Historic Junior class, where he is set to ride the team’s 335cc Royal Enfield GP5.
The machine has already built a notable recent history at the Classic TT. Twelve months ago, Adam McLean came within 0.269 seconds of victory aboard the Royal Enfield, finishing second to Mike Browne in one of the closest finishes of the 2025 meeting. McLean also recorded a race lap of 110.257mph, having gone even quicker in qualifying with a lap of 111.001mph, figures that underline the remarkable performance now achievable from the British-built single-cylinder machine.
In 2025, Adam McLean came within 0.269 seconds of victory aboard the Royal Enfield
McLean had also stood on the podium in 2024 when he finished third behind the Patons of Shaun Anderson and John McGuinness, while team-mate Joe Yeardsley further demonstrated the strength of the Royal Enfield package by lapping at more than 109mph in qualifying during both the 2024 and 2025 meetings.
For Dunlop, the ride marks his first appearance in the Historic Senior class for almost a decade. His most recent outing in the category came in 2017 when he campaigned the Black Eagle Racing MV Agusta, a machine that represented a very different interpretation of classic Grand Prix racing.
That appearance ended in retirement, as did his previous Historic Senior outings on the Molnar Manx Nortons between 2013 and 2015. Despite the lack of results, Dunlop consistently demonstrated strong pace on the traditional 500cc machinery, lapping at close to 109mph and running in podium contention during the 2015 race before retiring on the final lap.
For Dunlop, the ride marks his first appearance in the Historic Senior class for almost a decade
Dunlop’s programme with Flitwick Motorcycles/SMV will also extend to the Historic Junior class, where he is set to ride the team’s 335cc Royal Enfield GP5. The machine is a newly built replica of Royal Enfield’s 1964 GP5 over-the-counter racer, developed from the original project overseen by the legendary Geoff Duke. The GP5 scored Royal Enfield’s only World Championship points when Selwyn Griffiths finished fourth in the 250cc Ulster Grand Prix in 1966.
The modern replica has been made possible through the support of long-term SMV sponsors John and Olaug Mann. Steve Linsdell began the project with a new old stock original GP5 frame, discovered on eBay still wrapped in its original brown paper, and then recreated the remainder of the machine from scratch, including new castings for the engine.
Linsdell has long been known for bringing unusual machinery to the Mountain Course, and the GP5 represents a rare and distinctive addition to the Historic Junior field, offering an intriguing alternative to the Honda CB350 K4s that have become the benchmark machines in the class in recent years.
In recent seasons, Dunlop has been closely associated with lightweight two-strokes and Formula 1 machinery, including appearances on the Honda RS250 and the Norton Rotary. His 2026 Classic TT programme brings him back to two very different but equally intriguing Royal Enfield machines: the traditional 500cc Bullet, which reflects the single-cylinder motorcycles that once formed the backbone of both Grand Prix and TT racing, and the rare 335cc GP5, a faithful recreation of one of Royal Enfield’s most fascinating Grand Prix designs.
