MCN’s top five road races: 3rd

Michael Dunlop wins four TTs for the second year in a row

Isle of Man TT Senior TT

Finishing order: Michael Dunlop, Conor Cummins, Guy Martin

A fortnight after taking two wins on his first outing on the BMW S1000RR at the North West 200, Michael Dunlop went to the Isle of Man and dominated the TT on the previously unproven German superbike. He gave the German factory their first Island win in 75 years as he triumphed in the Superbike, Superstock and Senior TTs. His victory on a Honda in the 2nd Supersport TT saw him take his TT tally to 11 and become the first man in history to win four TTs back to back.

None of the four races could be said to have been a classic as Dunlop largely dominated each event from the drop of the Manx flag but the cumulative effect of that domination firmly establishes it as the road racing performance of the year.

All of the pre-race speculation had centred around whether Dunlop could repeat his 2013 Honda mounted performance on the BMW and he emphatically answered every question in the affirmative. In the Superbike race he broke the existing lap record on each of the two opening laps to pave the way to victory. On the second lap of the Senior he set an amazing average speed of 145mph from the start to Ramsey to end his week on a sensational high.

“People thought that I was mad to leave Honda.” he said after the Superbike TT.

“I had a point to prove and I think I have proved it.”