Isle of Man TT: Michael Dunlop says Mountain Course wins are 'Olympic gold medals' of road racing
- Published
Michael Dunlop celebrates his second Supersport success in 2022 with members of his team
Michael Dunlop says he is not targeting a specific number of wins in his Isle of Man TT career but aims to "add to the collection" at this year's event.
The 34-year-old has 21 TT wins, five behind the record total of his uncle Joey and two adrift of the tally accumulated by John McGuinness.
"If you're a road racer, your biggest goal is the TT, the Olympic gold medal," said Dunlop.
"I don't really think about it [the record].
"My era is different than Joey's. I'm not looking at goals or overall wins, there's not a number I'm looking for."
Dunlop took his first TT success in 2009 and has gone on to rack up a record nine Supersport triumphs, in addition to four Superbike wins, three victories in the Senior TT, three in Superstocks and two Supertwins wins.
The Ballymoney rider has enjoyed success with six different manufacturers and has a full fleet of machinery ready to go for 2023 in the form of a Hawk Racing Honda Superbike, an MD Racing Honda Superstock and Supersport Yamaha, plus a Paton for the Supertwins class.
"You're only as good as your last race. Once you perform at the TT people want you and if they don't perform at the TT they don't want you, it's the only reason why I'm still in a job," reflected Dunlop on the TT's official YouTube channel, external.
"Each win has been good for a different reason, what we've maybe had to go through to do it.
"While I've still got the know-how to win races I'll keep coming [to the TT] and if I get to the stage I don't think I can win I won't come.
"It's a place that throws so many spanners in the works. You can have a good year or a bad one."
Michael Dunlop in action on his Supersport Yamaha in 2022
'Learning from family heritage'
The Dunlop name has been synonymous with TT racing for decades, with their combined total of family wins rising to 52 courtesy of Michael's double in the Supersport class last year.
His late father Robert won five races at the meeting, while his brother William also competed regularly before his untimely death in July 2018.
"I learned from heritage. I learned from and go by the way my dad did it, the way Joey did it," explained Dunlop.
"I'm the last of the pure breed road racers, apart from a couple of lads from home.
"There's nobody else coming from Ireland any more and winning TTs and everyone is an athlete now which is hard because I'm not an advertisement for an athlete.
"It maybe annoys some people that I don't race as much but can still rock up at the TT and win races.
"At the end of the day we do a lot of it ourselves, whereas a lot of the big teams are heavily financed."
'There's definitely more in the tank'
Like the other TT competitors, Dunlop had to get reacquainted with the Mountain Course last year after a three-year hiatus because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The Isle of Man had changed, they'd resurfaced some of the roads, built new houses," he observed.
"The crowds were massive. There were people in places where I'd never seen them standing before.
"The disappointment we had with the big bike last year we had to make amends [in the Supersport races].
"I knew it would be tight, I knew nobody was going to walk away with it and I knew I had to up my game on the final lap.
"I was the only person to break a lap record all week at the TT so it means we still have the speed. There's definitely more in the tank.
"When your back is against the wall sometimes you have to keep pushing. There was enough to let me believe we still have something and I think if we get the Superbike sorted and dialled in properly I can go back to riding that hard as well. I'll give it 100%."
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