TT 2018: Dunlop: 'That was for Dan'

Michael Dunlop has dedicated his RST Superbike TT race win to his team-mate Dan Kneen who tragically lost his life on Wednesday.

Like Dunlop, Kneen joined the Tyco BMW team for the 2018 season and had been showing promise in the build-up to the TT. A 132mph lap suggested Kneen would be a front-running challenger come Saturday’s race, but tragedy struck on Wednesday evening as he lost his life in an incident at Churchtown in practice.

The Kneen family gave Tyco BMW their blessing to continue racing, and Michael Dunlop paid tribute in the best possible way by dedicating his win to the 30-year-old.

“It’s hard to celebrate this week,” said Dunlop after the race. “The Tyco BMW has done a great job, we can’t say or do anything but that is for Dan and his family. He was my team-mate.”

The victory came to Dunlop despite a tough practice week saw the Tyco BMW squad suffer with finding a feeling with the rear Dunlop tyre.

“We’ve struggled with a few bits this week, one area in particular and we’ve been trying to address that all week,” Dunlop continued. “The bike hasn’t missed a beat so a big thanks to the Tyco BMW team.

“The boys haven’t stopped working and we’ve been changing this and that and the other to get me comfortable. We’re still a bit away from that but we could still get the job done”