Comment: It could be the end of an era for John McGuinness but Michael Dunlop still has time on his side to challenge his uncle Joey's record of 26 TT wins

The Ballymoney man is the third most successful TT rider ever behind his uncle Joey (26 wins) and England’s John McGuinness, who claimed his 23rd and most recent victory in the 2015 Senior.

However, Dunlop is now the clear favourite to equal or surpass Joey’s long-standing record, with last week’s announcement conceivably heralding the end of an era for McGuinness, who would be 50 when the festival is next scheduled to run in 2022.

The Morecambe man has already stated his desire to return to the event and achieve a milestone 100th TT start, but another coveted success on the island seems unlikely, even for one of the greatest TT riders of a generation.

His cause hasn't been helped either by the fact that McGuinness hasn’t raced at the sharp end at the TT since 2016.

He missed the event in consecutive years in 2017 and 2018 through injury following a crash at the North West 200, while his much-hyped return last year with Norton proved disastrous as the 48-year-old failed to register a finish in the Superbike or Senior races.

A perennial TT winner in the blue riband class, McGuinness was virtually unbeatable on a Superbike on the Isle of Man during his glory years throughout the 2000s, underpinning why Dunlop was so elated when he got the better of the Mountain master in 2013.

On a breakthrough day, he became the first rider to beat ‘McPint’ in a straight Superbike battle at the TT since 2003.

The Ulsterman had joined McGuinness in the official Honda Legends team and seized his opportunity with the determination of a rider in a hurry to make his own piece of history.

Dunlop, then only 24, famously won four races at the 2013 TT – including the Superbike opener – but he was denied the opportunity of equalling Ian Hutchinson’s record-breaking five-wins-in-a-week feat three years previously when McGuinness turned the tables on his young rival, edging victory in an epic Senior finale.

Afterwards, Dunlop pointed out that while Hutchinson had won more races in a week than any other TT rider, the Yorkshireman had never managed to defeat McGuinness in a Superbike head-to-head.

“I wanted to beat John McGuinness on the big bike because he was the man and I did it,” he told me at the time.

“‘Hutchy’ always talks about how great his five-timer was but he never beat McGuinness on the Superbike – that’s the difference.

“I can honestly say the five-timer never bothered me. Yes, it would’ve been nice, but for me I never worried about it.

“Even winning four races to me was better than Ian’s five wins because I beat John and that was the big thing, plus I broke Hutchy’s race and lap records in the Superstock and Supersport races.

“There were no breakdowns or anyone pulling out – the main men all finished the races.

“I won four races during TT week and nobody can ever take that away from me,” Dunlop added.

“It was my first full road race on the Honda Legends Superbike [Dunlop never rode the bike at the rain-lashed North West 200 in 2013, where only one Supersport race was held – which he won] and obviously we didn’t get the time we needed in practice because of the weather.

“But I’m happy to have won a big bike race at the TT – that’s what I wanted.”

Dunlop set a new race record on his way to victory in the Superbike TT and notched his first ever 131mph lap on the Honda Fireblade.

He won by a commanding 40 seconds from Cameron Donald on Wilson Craig’s Honda with McGuinness taking third.

Dunlop also won both Supersport races and smashed the lap record with an average speed of 128.667mph on his MD Racing CBR6000RR, taking the race record to boot.

In the Superstock race, he obliterated the lap record with a final lap of 131.220mph, claiming another race record.

His Superstock benchmark on the Honda Fireblade was only 3.5 seconds slower than McGuinness’ then outright lap record of 131.671mph, set on the Honda Legends Fireblade in the Superbike race.

It was also Dunlop’s fastest ever lap of the Mountain Course at the time.

Unlike McGuinness, whose legacy at the TT was secured long ago, Dunlop still has time on his side at the age of 31 to challenge for more silverware on the island.

Englishmen Peter Hickman and Dean Harrison have emerged in the past few years to raise the bar, but Dunlop very much remains a force to be reckoned with.

His 19th and most recent win was achieved in the Lightweight race on the Italian Paton in 2019, coming after he bagged a Superbike, Supersport and Lightweight treble in 2018.

His uncle Joey’s benchmark of 26 wins, which has stood since 2000, will still take some beating, but right now Dunlop is the man most likely to get there.

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