JOEY DUNLOP 25th ANNIVERSARY: ​'The only other death I know which has caused this sort of numb feeling of disbelief was Princess Diana'

The five-time Formula One world champion had only weeks earlier toasted one of his greatest ever performances at the Isle of Man TT, winning three more races to secure his third career hat-trick around the Mountain Course, extending his record tally of victories to staggering 26.

His sensational triumph in the Formula One race on the Honda SP-1 has gone into the annals of TT folklore, with Joey – aged 48 – rolling back the years to win the race for the first time since 1988, and a seventh time in all.

Further wins on Bertie Payne’s 250cc Honda and Andy McMenemy’s little ‘125’ added another sprinkling of stardust to a dream week for ‘Yer Maun’, who reinforced his standing as a legend in his own lifetime.

He received a hero’s welcome upon his return to Northern Ireland, when thousands turned out to acknowledge the greatest road racer there has ever been as Joey toured his home town of Ballymoney in an open-top bus.

Sadly, he was left stunned shortly afterwards when long-time sponsor and friend, Andy McMenemy, tragically took his own life.

Joey, who had an entry submitted for the Skerries 100 near Dublin at the beginning of July, instead opted to travel to Estonia, away from the media scrutiny at home.

It was a fateful decision that ultimately cost him his life, with Joey sustaining fatal injuries following an accident in the wet in the 125cc race on Sunday, July 2, 2000 at the Pirita-Kose-Kloostrimetsa course.

He had won the 600cc race the previous day on John Harris’s Honda and followed up with a Superbike victory on his Honda RC45, not long before he lined up his final ever racing laps on McMenemy’s 125cc Honda.

Newsflashes interrupted the daytime television schedules on an otherwise quiet Sunday afternoon in Northern Ireland as word spread of the legendary racer’s crash.

The sense of shock and disbelief across the country was palpable as united in their grief for a man who transcended the political divide and was a hero to so many.

His pub in Ballymoney became a shrine as hundreds of people made their way to the Co. Antrim town to lay wreaths and bouquets of flowers outside in a spontaneous outpouring of sorrow.

Joey’s former manager and close friend, Davy Wood – who died from illness in 2004 – compared the shock over his death to the passing of Princess Diana in 1997.

“The only other death I know which has caused this sort of numb feeling of disbelief was Princess Diana’s,” he said. “You can’t believe what the place is like. There is shock in the air.

"He was known by everyone, and for all the problems Northern Ireland has had it was people like Joey who could put a smile on anyone’s face, no matter what their religion or beliefs. “There have been very few people who could do that. He really was unique.

"Not only was he a great sportsman, he was also a great humanitarian.”

Joey’s brother, Jim, remembers the moment he received a call from Joey’s wife Linda, informing him that he had been involved in a ‘very bad accident’.

“Linda rang me and said that Joey had been in a bad accident, a very bad accident. She asked me to come over and I rang Robert and told him that Joey had been in a crash and he arrived too,” Jim said. “The news came through from Adrian Archibald’s father, I think, and that was how we heard in the end.

“All riders think ‘it’ll never happen to me’ and I think Joey probably thought the same.

"When Joey was killed it hit a lot of riders hard because they thought ‘if it can happen to Joey it can happen to me’.

“He was fast, but he was really steady and smooth, always on the same line every lap.

"Not many riders were as safe as Joey was but it just goes to show you.

“I don’t think he’ll ever be forgotten.

"Everybody liked him and I think it was just because he was an ordinary fella.”

A quarter-of-a-century on, Joey’s revered achievements still fill motorcycling fans with pride, and tales of his genius are passed down from one generation to the next.

He will never be forgotten.