John McGuinness set to fly in from Isle of Man TT to join star-studded line-up for special Joey Dunlop celebration event in Ballymoney

The event will honour Joey’s legacy as the 25th anniversary of his tragic death approaches in July.

A 26-time TT winner and five-time TT Formula 1 World Champion, Joey died in a racing accident at Tallinn in Estonia on July 2, 2000, only weeks after he claimed a final famous hat-trick at the TT at the age of 48.

McGuinness will fly in from the Isle of Man, where the Honda Racing UK rider and 23-time TT winner is gearing up for the start of practice and qualifying on Monday.

The 53-year-old from Morecambe was Joey’s Honda team-mate in 2000 and will ride one of the Ulster sporting icon’s former machines in an exclusive parade through the town centre featuring 25 of his bikes.

McGuinness will join World Superbike champions Jonathan Rea and Carl Fogarty in the closed-road display, plus former Grand Prix riders Ron Haslam, Jeremy McWilliams and Eugene Laverty.

British Superbike contenders Glenn Irwin and ex-champion Leon Haslam will also participate alongside celebrated names such as Phillip McCallen, Ryan Farquhar and Michael Rutter.

The event will be streamed live via Greenlight Television’s King of the Roads TV online platform, giving fans, giving fans unable to attend in person the opportunity to experience the Joey 25 celebration as it happens from anywhere around the globe.

Joey’s wife Linda said: “Joey was a local hero and an international icon, and this live stream ensures that fans everywhere can join us in celebrating his extraordinary legacy.

“This event is a heartfelt, deeply personal tribute to Joey, and we’re delighted that we will share this special day with his fans worldwide.”

Joey’s son and former racer Gary said his family was “humbled” by the adoration for Joey almost a quarter of a century on from his untimely passing.

“It’s incredible and it’s humbling for us,” he said, speaking at the Joey 25 launch in March.

“It’s still unbelievable the amount of people we see around Ballymoney, some who aren’t really that big into bikes, but you see them all with the wee ones with their shirts on.

“Ballymoney as a town has been brilliant to us and even the council is going to go ahead at this stage, 25 years down the line, shows testament to how they thought of my father.

“We’re all getting on now and this 25th anniversary is probably the last big thing there’s going to be in our lifetimes, so it’s nice that they are pushing the boat out that extra bit to make everything perfect for it.”