Micky D hits 27 with Supertwin win
Bull becomes G.O.A.T.
Having equalled uncle Joey Dunlop’s record of 26 Isle of Man TT race wins in Saturday’s first Monster Energy Supersport TT, Michael Dunlop became the outright most successful rider to take on the formidable Mountain course with a dominant victory in the Metzeler Supertwin TT.
The rider known by his fans as The Bull always excels in the Supertwin class and his Paton S1-R never missed a beat around a circuit with a few damp patches. In complete contrast to Sunday’s dramatic RST Superbike TT, where a visor issue cost Dunlop an almost certain win, the 35-year-old Northern Irishman was never headed in the three lap race, winning by over 20 seconds from Peter Hickman, on a Yamaha, with the ever-popular Dominic Herbertson taking a career first TT podium in third on another Paton.
Speaking after the race Dunlop said:
“To get that overall thing was what I was looking for. It’s taken a bit of a dampener off Sunday, but not all of it. I felt good on the wee bike. It was a bit windy out there and I am not the smallest rider, so I was just trying to squeeze in a bit.
I’ll never be modelled against Joey and I don’t want to be compared to him, he was a special talent. Someone will get my record one day, but I don’t care because everybody’s inspiration in life was to be Joey Dunlop at the Isle of Man and to have another win is the tip of the top. It’s not that I am any better, it’s just a personal thing that I wanted to break. I’ve broken a lot of records in my lifetime but that’s one that I really wanted.”
Hickman, who has 14 TT wins of his own, complemented Dunlop on his achievement saying that it was “great to be in the race where Michael got 27 wins” adding it was “an unbelievable achievement”.
Rain stopped racing immediately after the Supertwin outing and the hope is for better weather in the final three days of TT 2024, with six races still due to take place, including the Entire Cover Insurance Supertwin TT race two on Friday and the festival closing Milwaukee Senior TT on Saturday.
