The 2024 Isle of Man TT will be remembered as the year in which Michael Dunlop became the most successful rider in the history of the event and new stars joined the top table by scoring debut wins.
Michael sat just one short of his late uncle Joey’s record tally coming into the latest edition of the famous road races but any weight of expectation was quickly lifted off his shoulders when he took victory in the curtain-raiser of the meeting, Supersport race one.
Having drawn level with his legendary relative at the top of the all-time list with his 26th win, Michael was set to go one better in the Superbike race, only to be denied a seemingly certain victory because of an issue with his visor which forced him to park up temporarily and lose 50 seconds on the timesheets.
A new lap record for the Superbike class at 135.970mph will have proved little consolation in the circumstances but further emphasised the Northern Irishman’s pace on the big bikes.
The 35-year old did not have to wait long for his history-making win as he took victory in the Supertwins class and went on to claim first place in the second races of the week in both the Supertwin and Supersport categories on the final day of racing to take his total to 29.
A fourth four-timer of his TT career for the Ballymoney rider, whose hopes of matching Ian Hutchinson’s 14-year-old benchmark of five triumphs in a week fell short when he retired in lap one of the Senior race.
Having gone into the meeting still nursing a hand injury from a crash earlier in the season and unsure which bikes to compete on in the Supersport and Superbike classes, Dunlop can reflect with satisfaction on his landmark achievement, as well as extending his unbeaten run in the Supersport class to six races in a row and 13 victories overall.
Still in his prime by the standards of motorcycle road racing, the sky seems to be the limit for him to further emphasise his credentials as the most prolific exponent of racing over the demanding Mountain Course.