Michael Dunlop has announced that he will compete in all the solo races at this year's Isle of Man TT under the Michael Dunlop Racing banner. The Ulsterman is looking to add to his two previous TT race victories and with backing from the McAdoo team, he is now in a position to do so.
Dunlop will be riding a Suzuki GSX-R600 in both Supersport races, a Hunts Motorcycles-built Honda CBR-1000RR in the Superbike class, plus the Senior TT and a Kawasaki ZX-10R in the Superstock event. He will also be on board an ER-6 Kawasaki SuperTwin in the Lightweight Race.
The 23 year old admits it has been a tough winter getting the package together but with his programme set, he is targeting more success on the mountain course later this year.
“As everyone knows, I'll be going hard at it as usual. It's been pretty stressful getting everything together and as an independent racer it's never straightforward. I've had to invest heavily to get the right machinery, and we're still looking for a couple of sponsors to help, but I'm confident that I've got everything in place to get some more wins under my belt at the TT. It's a different approach but some of the lads like Martin Marlow, Gerard Rice, Seamus Byrne and Mark Dunne are still with me as personal sponsors and we have a couple of new sponsors like Elas and Minimix Concrete also on board.”
“Winston McAdoo has always had great riders and if they weren't great he made them great. I was a big admirer of Bob Jackson and look at Ryan Farquhar, Ian Hutchinson and Conor Cummins. We will get on well because the team only want to win, just like me.”
Paul Phillips, TT and Motorsport Manager for the Isle of Man Government, expects Dunlop to be firmly in the mix when racing begins on June 2nd.
“Michael is one of the most exciting young competitors around the TT Course and is one of a handful of riders that can win any of the classes on his day. Over the last few years he has become one of the genuine stars of the TT and he'll be looking to add to his already impressive TT CV this June.”