AGAINST THE ODDS: JOEY’S 2000 TREBLE
In an unforgettable week at TT 2000, 48-year-old Joey Dunlop silenced his doubters and rolled back the years to claim a stunning hat-trick of victories - including a long-awaited return to the top step in the Formula One race. Racing against younger rivals, changing machinery, and the passing of time, Dunlop’s final TT campaign became one of his greatest, and in this piece, photographer and writer Stephen Davison tells the story of how the quiet man from Ballymoney defied the odds one last time…
THE EARLY YEARS
During the 1980s, Joey Dunlop was the man to beat around the Isle of Man TT’s Mountain Course. In an era when the Japanese manufacturers still produced ’works’ machinery for the roads, the Ulsterman had been king.
The Ballymoney road racer’s rise had begun with a quiet TT debut in 1976 when he finished 16th in the Junior and 18th in the Senior races. Twelve months later he held on to the tank of a scruffy, home-built 750cc Rea Yamaha with his knees to win the Jubilee TT and claim his first big bike success around the Mountain Course.
Impressed by the Irish racer’s pace and commitment after he helped their Suzuki rivals win the 1980 Formula One world championship, Honda secured Dunlop’s services in a deal that would remain in place for the following two decades. With the might of the Japanese manufacturer behind him, Dunlop dominated the Formula One series during the Eighties, going on to surpass Mike Hailwood’s long standing record of 14 TT victories in 1993 and making the ‘King of the Mountain’ title his own.
As is so often the way in motorcycle racing, none of this was entirely plain sailing. In 1989 the Ulsterman suffered serious injuries following a crash at Brands Hatch. Thereafter Joey’s TT success was limited to the smaller 125cc and 250cc machinery aside from a solitary Senior victory in 1995 and as the decade drew to a close it began to feel like the best days of the Dunlop/Honda dream team at the TT were also coming to an end.
Honda seemed to admit as much when they presented Joey with his RC45 as a souvenir after the burly, young Yorkshireman, David Jefferies, eclipsed Dunlop and his 750cc V4 to claim a comprehensive Formula 1, Production and Senior TT treble on the all-conquering V&M 1000cc R1 Yamahas at the 1999 TT.
A NEW MILLENNIUM, A RENEWED CHALLENGE
Whatever his Japanese bosses may have been thinking, Dunlop certainly wasn’t considering retirement. A man of few words who didn’t spend a lot of time explaining himself, the Ballymoney rider made it clear to Honda ahead of the first TT of the new millennium that he wanted at least one more opportunity to win a big bike race around the Mountain Course.
Following the demoralising TT defeats of June 1999, Joey immediately rose to the challenge of proving he still had what it took as he beat Jefferies and team-mate, Iain Duffus at Dundrod’s Ulster Grand Prix in August. Posting his fastest ever laps of the 7.4mile Northern Ireland course where he was – and remains – the most successful rider of all time, Joey steered his supposedly outmoded RC45 to a stunning victory over the 1000cc V&M R1s.
His success threw down the gauntlet to his Honda bosses, with Dunlop making it clear he believed he could repeat that result at the TT if he had access to the right machine. The company’s initial offering of an undeveloped Fireblade was summarily dismissed following an early season test in 2000 at Aghadowey and rumours began to circulate that the Japanese company’s longest serving rider was considering jumping ship to another manufacturer if his Superbike demands were not met. Eventually Honda UK boss Bob McMillan, a powerful Dunlop ally, convinced the factory to accede to his wishes and a new SP1 V Twin was promised for the Ulsterman. Similar to the machine being raced by Aaron Slight in that year’s World Superbike championship, the bike would be run at TT 2000 by Paul Bird’s Vimto sponsored squad with Joey joining John McGuinness on a similar machine.
Joey’s first competitive outing on the new purple and white liveried machine was on a wet April day at the Cookstown 100. The bad weather limited any real opportunity to put the SP1 through its paces and contributed to Joey’s first race disqualification. Totally unaware of the introduction of a new rule that prohibited riders from remounting their bikes following a crash, Joey jumped back on to his Honda after sliding off unhurt at Gortin corner whilst leading the 250cc race. The road racing legend was furious to be denied a £100 cheque for a third-place finish!
Despite a lack of testing, Joey set the pulses of his legions of home fans racing when he put the new SP1 on pole for the Superbike races at the North West 200 just a fortnight later. But mechanical issues forced the home hero’s retirement from both contests and to add to the gloom of the Honda camp, Michael Rutter – David Jefferies new teammate in the V&M Yamaha squad – won both superbike races on the R1.
A fortnight later and it was Jefferies who was setting the pace during the opening TT qualifying sessions as the battle between the old ‘King of the Roads’ and the ‘Young Pretender’ commenced. The arrival of new Showa suspension, a special swing arm and a World Superbike-spec engine for Dunlop’s SP1 plus a last-minute front tyre switch during Friday evening’s final session helped steady the Honda ship ahead of the following day’s Formula One battle.
RED LIVERIED REDEMPTION
Anyone listening to the Manx Radio TT commentary ahead of that 2000 F1 race will never forget the excitement as Dunlop’s SP1 was rolled on to the Glencrutchery Road start line sporting a resplendent red livery which it would only wear for the six laps of the Formula One race. If Joey could deliver on his ambition, the unique Honda would forever hold a special place in TT history.
Setting off third behind Ian Lougher and Nigel Davies, the Ulsterman’s vast Mountain Course experience immediately came into play as he claimed a slender 0.3 sec lead from Michael Rutter on roads that were still wet beneath the trees following overnight rain. Jefferies was a further ten seconds back as he struggled in the tricky conditions, but with the roads drying, the burly Yorkshireman started to close the gap on his older rival. Forging ahead of Rutter on the second circuit, Jefferies trailed Dunlop by nine seconds after the first pit stop. By Ramsey on lap three that advantage had been cut to five seconds as the V&M rider continued to pile on the pressure ahead of the second pit stop on lap four.
The Honda crew’s quicker work in ‘Gasoline Alley’ allowed Dunlop to gain an extra six second advantage, forcing Jefferies to push the V&M R1 to the limit as the pair began the final phase of their epic contest. Then news came through that smoke was trailing from the tortured Yamaha and Jefferies had ground to a halt at Ballig Bridge, leaving Dunlop to cruise home and claim perhaps his most famous TT win by almost a minute from Michael Rutter with John McGuinness in third.
Throughout a career that began in 1969, Joey had often been cast as David to various racing Goliaths such as Steve Hislop, Carl Fogarty and Phillip McCallen. He had also faced the challenge of battling his way back to success following serious injury. It had been 12 years since the Ulsterman’s last Formula One TT win but if anyone thought the 48-year-old would roll back the throttle and take it easy for the rest of the week they were mistaken.
THE TREBLE
Two days later the Ballymoney publican claimed his 25th TT victory in the 250cc Lightweight race, leading Bruce Anstey home by over a minute as his old adversary, Ian Lougher, completed the podium in third. During the prizegiving ceremony that evening, the Isle of Man’s Minister for Sport, David Cretney, presented Joey with the Sword of State to mark his landmark achievement. Surrounded by his wife and family, the Minister removed the sword from its wooden plinth and beckoned to Joey to kneel and be ‘knighted’ in honour of his new landmark TT record.
But the Ballymoney man wasn’t finished. On Wednesday he completed his TT 2000 hat-trick, claiming his 26th and final Mountain Course victory in the Ultra-Lightweight 125cc race ahead of Denis McCullough and his brother, Robert. It would be the last time the brothers would share a race podium.
A fourth-place finish in the Junior 600cc race was followed by what no-one watching that June day could have imagined would be Joey’s final TT appearance during Friday’s Senior TT. With his mission accomplished, Joey completed the podium in third on the SP1 Honda behind V&M Yamaha rivals, David Jefferies and Michael Rutter as ‘DJ’ celebrated becoming the first rider to lap the Mountain course at over 125mph.
In a history making TT, Joey Dunlop had achieved another hat-trick of wins that included his principal goal of securing a Superbike victory following a five-year break. The indefatigable Ulsterman also rounded off an unforgettable week by posting his fastest ever lap of the legendary 37 ¾ miles at 123.87mph on the final lap of the Senior race.
At 48 the quiet and unassuming Ulsterman was still winning and going faster than he ever had before.
CELEBRATING JOEY
Twenty-five years on, that extraordinary final chapter will be celebrated at this year’s Classic TT with a special programme honouring Joey’s legendary 2000 treble. From Wednesday 20 to Friday 29 August, we’ll be reliving that iconic week inside the Joey Dunlop Pop-Up Exhibition and Cinema, open daily in the Mercury Club. The exhibition will bring the story of the treble — and the magic of the man behind it — vividly to life, with a curated collection of Joey’s treble-winning machines, leathers, yellow helmet, his unmistakable race transporter as well as other personal memorabilia, alongside a powerful photo gallery by Stephen Davison, capturing the emotion and atmosphere of that unforgettable week.
Then on Friday 29 August, the celebration will reach its poignant conclusion with a special tribute lap by Michael Dunlop MBE, riding a replica Honda SP1 to recreate one of the most iconic moments in TT history. Whether you stood at the roadside in 2000 or discovered the legend in the years since, this is your chance to step back into the story and celebrate the man who, even at 48, was still winning, and going faster than he ever had before.
