TT 2016: Ulster stars out in force for official launch in Douglas

Northern Ireland's top road racers will converge on the Isle of Man this week to launch the 2016 TT races at the Villa Marina in Douglas on Thursday evening.
Michael Dunlop will be back on the Hawk Racing BMW at the Isle of Man TT this year.Michael Dunlop will be back on the Hawk Racing BMW at the Isle of Man TT this year.
Michael Dunlop will be back on the Hawk Racing BMW at the Isle of Man TT this year.

Eleven-time winner Michael Dunlop is among the star names in attendance and the Ballymoney man will be aiming to bounce back on the Mountain Course in June when he will ride BMW machinery in the Superbike class for Stuart Hicken’s Hawk Racing Buildbase team.

Ryan Farquhar has joined Ulster’s Tyco BMW outfit for the TT to ride the S1000RR Superbike and will be joined at the launch by team-mate Ian Hutchinson, a sensational treble winner in 2015 after the Bingley Bullet won both Supersport races and the Superstock event to earn his maiden TT wins since his record five-timer in 2010.

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Honda Racing’s John McGuinness takes centre stage after the Morecambe man notched his 23rd victory last year with a sublime performance in the Senior TT, setting a new outright lap record at 132.701mph.

Fermanagh’s Lee Johnston, a podium finisher behind Hutchy and Dunlop in the Superstock TT on the East Coast BMW, will also appear on stage while CD-IC Racing’s William Dunlop is another big name guest.

The line-up also includes Conor Cummins, Gary Johnson, Dean Harrison, Ivan Lintin, Ian Lougher, David Johnson, James Hillier, Michael Rutter, Peter Hickman and newcomers Alex Polita and Ben Wilson.

The Sidecar class is represented by Dave Molyneux and Dan Sayle, plus last year’s double winners Ben and Tom Birchall and Tim Reeves and Patrick Farrance.

The event will be streamed live online at iomtt.com.