Michael Dunlop set for Daytona 200 return in March on Ducati Panigale V2 Supersport machine
Michael Dunlop is set to return to the legendary Daytona 200 motorcycle race for the second time in March.
The Ulster rider is entered on a Milwaukee/MD Racing Ducati Panigale V2.
Dunlop tested a Panigale Supersport bike at Jerez in Spain in January as he weighed up his options for 2025.
Last year, he rode a Triumph 765 at the North West 200 and during practice week at the Isle of Man TT before reverting to his tried and tested MD Racing Yamaha R6 and winning both Supersport races.
He has relied on an Italian Paton in the Supertwin class at the TT since 2018, winning five races.
The record 29-time TT winner has yet to officially announce his stable of machines for the major road races this year but has been linked with a return to BMW power on an M1000RR after two seasons riding a Honda Fireblade Superbike prepared by Hawk Racing.
Dunlop has strong ties to BMW after riding for the German manufacturer for the first time in 2014, when he famously won the Senior race on the Hawk Racing BMW 75 years after BMW’s last victory in the historic race when Georg Meier emerged victorious.
He has won six races at the TT in total on BMW machinery, achieving his last success in the 2018 Superbike race under tragic circumstances following the death of his TAS Racing team-mate Dan Kneen, who lost his life in a crash during qualifying.
In 2021, Dunlop finished 11th on his debut at the Daytona 200, when he rode a Kawasaki 636.
Fellow TT star Peter Hickman and Richard Cooper are also entered at Daytona, when they will ride Triumph 765s for Hickman’s PHR Performance outfit.
During a memorable year in 2024, Dunlop surpassed his uncle Joey’s 24-year-old TT record of 26 wins, claiming a second successive four-timer.
The 35-year-old won both Supersport and Supertwin races and had a commanding lead in the Superbike TT until he was forced to stop at the beginning of the penultimate lap to adjust an incorrectly fastened visor.
Dunlop set a new Superbike TT lap record at 135.970mph as he battled back to finish fourth. It was the Ballymoney man’s fastest ever lap around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course and the quickest lap of race week.
In April, Dunlop will compete in the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours for Team LPR Poland on a BMW M1000RR as he tunes up for the North West 200, which takes place from May 7-10.