MICHAEL DUNLOP MBE

Synonymous with the sport of road racing, the Dunlop family have stood on the podium no less than 103 times while the legendary surname has been etched onto a TT winner’s trophy on 60 separate occasions to date. But these jubilant highs have been accompanied by devastating lows in equal measure.

Uncle Joey, father Robert, and brother William have all been lost to the sport they love, yet through all this unimaginable tragedy, Michael continues to race and win, establishing himself as the most successful TT rider ever in 2024 with his 27th victory on the opening race day breaking the long-standing record of 26 wins by Joey.

Since making his debut in 2007 at only 18-years of age, Michael has been at the heart of some of the most extraordinary TT moments in modern history. His first win in the second 600cc Supersport Race of 2009 marked the beginning of an era where the youngest Dunlop was always in the fight for victory. He has enjoyed great on-track battles with the likes of John McGuinness and Bruce Anstey, but without doubt his most fierce rivalry has been with Ian Hutchinson.

The mid-2010s saw the pair take victory after victory with Michael setting new lap records and the first sub 17-minute lap of the TT Course in the process. There was no love lost between the two with numerous off-track altercations along the way, peaking with a sensational but volatile TT in 2016 where Hutchinson’s three wins in the Supersport and Superstock classes and Dunlop’s two wins in the headline Superbike/Senior encounters were accompanied by accusations of cheating, arguments over manufacturer favouritism, and post-race bust ups.

While the 2018 and 2019 editions of the TT saw Dean Harrison and Peter Hickman steal the headlines and raise the level of competition further still, Dunlop continued to go about his business and win races. A hat-trick in 2018 was followed by a 19th career win in 2019, despite riding with a significant injury, and two more Supersport victories were taken in 2022 where he bettered his own lap record with a stunning speed of 129.475mph.

Hickman and Harrison became the new rivals and continued to have the upper hand in the 1000cc class, but Dunlop bucked that trend in 2023 as a switch to the Hawk Racing Honda enabled him to return to the top step of a Superbike podium for the first time since 2018. He also became just the second rider to break the 135mph barrier and with three more wins, he moved onto a career total of 25. Another milestone came in the second Supersport race when he became the first rider to lap the Mountain Course at more than 130mph on a 600cc machine.

With pressure and expectation building in 2024 about breaking Uncle Joey’s 24-year old record of 26 wins, Michael didn’t disappoint, victories in both Supersport and Supertwin races moving him on to a career total of 29. It could and should have been 30 too, only a visor issue at the pit-stop preventing him from winning the Superbike race.

Proud of the record he now held, and equally proud of his family’s history and heritage in the sport, he remains the first name people look out for on the results sheets. And having switched to BMW and Ducati machinery for 2025, his quest and thirst for further success shows no signs of slowing down.

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NOTHING BUT MICHAEL DUNLOP MBE AT THE TT