Michael Dunlop bags solid result on Ducati Panigale V2 race debut at Daytona 200 as fellow Isle of Man TT star Peter Hickman finishes fourth
Michael Dunlop finished a solid ninth at the Daytona 200 in the USA on Saturday as he made his race debut on the Milwaukee/MD Racing Ducati Panigale V2.
Josh Herrin retained his crown as he claimed victory at the International Speedway circuit in Daytona Beach in Florida on his Ducati V2 by 5.3 seconds from Richie Escalante (Suzuki GSX-R750), with pole man Tyler Scott – also Suzuki-mounted – rounding out the top three in the 200-mile race on the famous oval-banked track.
It was Herrin’s fourth victory in the Daytona 200 and his third win on the spin in the iconic race.
Peter Hickman was a fine fourth on the PHR Performance Triumph 765 although team-mate Richard Cooper failed to finish.
The race was red-flagged twice, with the first stoppage occurring because of heavy rain before the race was halted again when Jason Farrell went down after the initial restart.
Dunlop had qualified for the race in 16th position.
The Ballymoney man first tested the Italian Ducati machine at Jerez in Spain in January as he assesses his options for the major road races in 2025.
Prior to Saturday’s race, Dunlop met up with Hollywood star Keanu Reeves at Daytona.
He struck up a friendship with motorcycling fan Reeves after meeting him through their shared interest in bike racing.
Dunlop shared a picture on his Facebook page captioned ‘good to catch up with an old mate’.
The 35-year-old was competing at Daytona for the second time after finishing 11th on his debut in 2021 on a Kawasaki 636.
Dunlop has clinched sixth consecutive Supersport wins at the Isle of Man TT on his MD Racing Yamaha R6.
Last season, he rode a Triumph Street Triple 765 at the North West 200 and finished third in both Supersport races.
At the TT, he began practice week riding the British Triumph but later switched to his tried and tested Yamaha and won both Supersport races.
Dunlop won four races for the second successive year around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course to surpass his uncle Joey’s record of 26 TT wins, setting a new benchmark of 29 victories.
He made history with the first 130mph lap on a Supersport machine on his way to victory in 2023 on his Yamaha R6.
The Ulsterman was set to ride a Ducati Panigale V4 Superbike on the roads in 2022 for Paul Bird but dramatically pulled out of the deal, citing a lack of testing and preparation. Dunlop was initially due to ride the PBM machine in 2020 but did not have the opportunity after the NW200 and TT were cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.