Social media reacts to Michael Dunlop's weekend at Isle of Man TT as he equals uncle Joey's win record, but is denied 27th triumph after visor issue
Michael Dunlop’s wait to claim the outright TT wins record from uncle Joey has extended at least a couple more days, but the Ballymoney man still celebrated success this weekend after picking up a 26th Isle of Man triumph – and fans have been having their say on social media.
Just when it looked like Dunlop was on course to pick up the historic victory in Sunday’s Superbike race – he was 25 seconds ahead of Davey Todd after four laps – his race was derailed by a visor issue following the second pit-stop, forcing the 35-year-old to pause and make adjustments before continuing.
That incident cost him 30 seconds and ultimately ended Dunlop’s hopes of sealing a weekend double after he’d already won Saturday’s Supersport race to equal Joey’s famous record.
Michael’s place amongst the pantheon of Northern Ireland’s sporting greats is already secured given his tremendous success and he will be back in action on Tuesday as he chases history.
After Dunlop finished Sunday’s race in fourth behind Peter Hickman, Davey Todd and Dean Harrison, fans on social media were left with a feeling of what could have been.
Nicola posted: “Shame for MD as he’s been on fire".
Antonio added: “I feel so sorry for Dunlop!”
Marcin shared a similar sentiment, saying: “I feel sorry for MD”.
Dunlop will be in action twice on Tuesday, competing in both the RL360 Superstock TT and Metzeler Supertwin TT, but Samantha was still left disappointed, posting: “So gutted for Michael Dunlop that was his race”.
However, emotions were totally different 24 hours prior as Dunlop secured a 26th victory, finishing over eight seconds ahead of Todd while Honda Racing’s Harrison made up the podium.
Philip was delighted, saying: “What an awesome achievement from an amazing family with a history of winning”.
Simon was also full of praise for the Dunlop family’s sporting dynasty: “So pleased for Michael and glad it’s staying in the Dunlop family”.
Meanwhile, Paul praised all riders at the Isle of Man TT, but reserved special mention for Dunlop. “An amazing feat by an amazing rider. My respect for any road racer is immense. I cannot comprehend how skilful they are.”