The word optimism comes about every now and again and after picking up three NW200 wins a couple of weeks ago Michal Dunlop is flowing off it going into this years TT campaign with the record 29-time winner set to campaign BMW and Ducati machinery at this year’s event.
Dunlop will again enjoy support from Hawk Racing for the RST x D3O Superbike and Milwaukee Senior races where he’ll campaign the latest Superbike-specification BMW M1000RR. He’ll use his own MD Racing machine for the RL360/Opul Superstock races.
The recently turned 36-year-old is no stranger to BMW machinery on the Mountain Course, though it’s been six years since his last outing on one. In 2019, he rode the Tyco BMW — the same bike he had claimed victory on in the Superbike TT the year before.
Prior to that, Dunlop was victorious in both the Superbike and Senior TT races in 2014 when he rode the Hawk Racing-backed machine with full factory support from the German manufacturer. That gave the Bavarian-based company their first Senior victory since 1939 when George Meier was clocked at almost 140mph on his 500cc supercharged machine.
More success came for Dunlop and Hawk Racing in 2016 when they repeated their Superbike-Senior double, with Dunlop becoming the first rider to lap the Mountain Course in under 17 minutes during the Superbike race. The Senior saw him up the then outright lap record further to 133.962mph.
The partnership between both rider and team has enjoyed success recently with Honda power but they’ve now decided to return to BMW with a bike similar to that being ridden by their main TT rivals Peter Hickman and Davey Todd. Jamie Coward, Conor Cummins, Mike Browne and Ian Hutchinson are other front-running competitors switching to BMW for 2025.
Meanwhile, Dunlop has ditched his all-conquering 600cc Yamaha YZF-R6 in favour of one of the all-new ‘next generation’ MILWAUKEE® Ducati V2 Panigale machines for the two Monster Energy Supersport races.
The shift in Supersport competitiveness – with the Triumph 765cc, Ducati 955cc, and Suzuki 750cc increasingly setting the pace – has led Dunlop to opt for the Ducati. After extensive overseas testing and an impressive ninth-place finish at March’s Daytona 200, the Italian machine now looks to be his informed choice for TT 2025.
