Manx Grand Prix: Opening practice begins on Sunday as Michael Dunlop tops impressive line-up

Northern Ireland’s Michael Dunlop, who made his Mountain Course debut at the event in 2006, winning the Newcomers C race, is among the big favourites.

Dunlop will ride a 250cc Honda in the Lightweight race next Friday and will be gunning for glory in the Classic Superbike race, which brings the festival to a close on Monday, August 28.

Dunlop will try again on the Team Classic Suzuki GSX-R750 SRAD machine after riding the bike for the first time at the Manx last year, when mechanical gremlins and a lack of set-up time forced the Ulsterman to revert to the team’s 1100cc Suzuki XR69.

However, he was forced out at the end of the second lap, with Rob Hodson taking the win on the Greenall Racing Kawasaki ZXR750.

Dunlop, who has been riding for Steve Wheatman’s team for over a decade, previously won the race in 2013 at the inaugural Classic TT and again in 2015 and 2016.

The 34-year-old will now hope to capitalise on the team’s continued development of the Suzuki GSX-R750, which he rode at the beginning of the year at the South African Classic TT event, claiming two wins in the F1 races at Welkom in February.

A quality entry includes Cork’s Mike Browne, who will make his debut in the Classic Superbike race with the Davies Motorsport team on a newly developed Yamaha YZF750.

Browne, who has signed with the Burrows Engineering/RK Racing for another season in 2024, won his maiden race at the event last year in the Lightweight race on a TZ250 Yamaha for the Laylaw Racing team, owned and run by Gerry Lawlor and former two-time TT winner Eddie Laycock.

Browne will again compete on the two-stroke Yamaha as he bids for a repeat of his victory last summer and will ride a 500 Norton in the Senior Classic race.

“I was over testing the Davies bike at Donington Park and it’s a new venture for them, which is exciting; it’s a good bike and they’ve put a lot of effort in, so it should be good as well,” Browne said.

“We won the 250 race last year and I’ve a good bike there with the Laylaw lads, but I don’t want to get carried away because anything can happen in these races on the older bikes.”

Morecambe’s John McGuinness returns on Roger Winfield’s Paton after being ruled out of the Senior Classic race in 2022 due to an engine failure.

The line-up also includes Dean Harrison, James Hillier, David Johnson, Michael Rutter, Derek Sheils, Jamie Coward, Paul Jordan, Adam McLean, Dominic Herbertson, Ian Lougher, Pierre Yves Bian, Nathan Harrison, Brian McCormack and Shaun Anderson.

Skerries man Michael Sweeney may also make his racing return from injury after crashing at the North West 200 in May.

Roads are scheduled to close on Sunday for practice from 12:45pm with a newcomers speed controlled lap up first.

A Senior and Classic Superbike session is then due at 1:30pm with the Junior, Lightweight and Classic Senior bikes out from 3:30pm.