Michael Dunlop returns to the track during BSB test at Donington Park

The 19-time Isle of Man TT winner was riding a BMW under the DC Racing banner and ended the day 23rd fastest on the combined times, 0.4s behind Honda Racing’s BSB newcomer Ryo Mizuno from Japan and ahead of fellow road racer Brian McCormack (FHO Racing BMW), who was 25th quickest.

In March, Dunlop made his debut at the legendary Daytona 200 in Florida, finishing in an impressive 11th place on the RPMmoto.com Kawasaki ZX6.

The Ballymoney racer’s previous race outing was also a short circuit meeting at the ‘King of Kirkistown’ event in Co Down last September.

Last year, the 32-year-old was set to ride a Ducati Panigale V4 for Paul Bird’s team at the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT, before the road racing calendar was essentially wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic.

Dunlop, though, has participated in a number of tests of this year, including the BSB test at Oulton Park last month and a Dunlop Masters Superbike test at Mondello Park in Co Kildare a few days later.

The Ulster rider did not compete at the Cookstown 100 last September – the only Irish road race to go ahead in 2020 – but fans will be hoping to see him in action at his home event in Armoy at the end of July, where he has won the blue riband ‘Race of Legends’ race eight times in a row.

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