Michael Dunlop Matches Legendary Uncle Joey’s 26 TT Victories
On Saturday, road racing sensation Michael Dunlop matched his legendary uncle Joey Dunlop’s 26 TT victories, a milestone that had stood since 2000, in the opening Supersport race. This remarkable feat cements the Dunlop dynasty as road racing’s most enduring, with Michael’s latest success taking on a poignant tone given the tragic losses of his uncle Joey in 2000, father Robert at the North West 200 in 2008, and older brother William at Skerries in 2018.
Dominance in Supertwin Race
Michael Dunlop demonstrated his dominance in Wednesday’s Supertwin race at the 2024 TT, shattering Joey’s all-time record, a feat the 35-year-old had always aspired to achieve. In a post-race interview with the TT+ live feed, Dunlop humbly reflected on his historic win:
“Obviously, I’ll never be modeled against Joey, and I don’t expect to be and I don’t want to be. Joey was a special talent. My record, somebody will get it someday, but I don’t care.”
Dunlop emphasized the personal significance of breaking the record, stating, “Everyone inspired in life to be a Joey Dunlop at the Isle of Man, and another win for me that’s the top of top. It’s not that many better, it’s just a personal thing now that I wanted to break. It’s one of them records… I’ve broken a lot of records in my lifetime, but that’s the one I wanted.“
Overcoming Visor Issue and Sunday’s Defeat
Although Dunlop was poised to secure his 27th TT victory in the Superbike race last Sunday, a visor issue forced him to relinquish the lead. He acknowledged that his Supertwin win mitigated the disappointment of Sunday’s defeat “but not all of it.” Dunlop confessed, “I don’t like to be cocky, but we should have been on 28 today but for the sheer disappointment of the last day, and I wanted to make up for it.“
Gratitude to Team and Upcoming Superstock Race
Dunlop expressed gratitude to his team, who worked tirelessly to resolve issues with the Supertwin bike. “We knew we had an issue on the first night [of practice] and the boys have worked really, really hard, and I must say thanks to them for working all night. Just we had issues in the first practice, first lap, and they’ve fixed it, and the bike’s working well.“
While acknowledging that the Supertwin win alleviated some of the Sunday’s disappointment, Dunlop is still driven to secure his 28th TT victory, with the first Superstock race of the event set to take place later on Wednesday afternoon.
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