Tandragee 100: Michael Dunlop gunning for more success after Superbike double on BMW following long absence in 2025
Michael Dunlop clinched a double on his return to the Around-A-Pound Tandragee 100 last year after a long absence, but the Northern Ireland rider will be gunning for even more success this weekend in Co Armagh.
The record 36-time Isle of Man TT winner won both Superbike races in 2025 on his MD Racing BMW and shattered the outright lap record, raising the bar to 111.584mph around the undulating 5.3-mile course.
Dunlop, though, didn’t achieve the results he wanted in the Supersport class on his Ducati Panigale V2, when he was forced to start from the second group following an issue with the Italian machine in qualifying.
Dunlop took third in the non-championship opener behind Republic of Ireland duo Mike Browne and Michael Sweeney, and finished as the runner-up in the main Supersport race as Browne wrapped up a double on Alister Russell’s Yamaha R6.
Dunlop set a new lap record in the class on his final lap at 109.276mph and the 37-year-old will be hoping for better luck in qualifying on Friday to secure a prominent grid position.
“When you’re catching people in real bad areas you’re just losing so much time, but even on the last lap I didn’t have a free lap and we broke the lap record by nearly three seconds,” Dunlop reflected on last year’s race.
“It was just the amount of traffic and the roads being so tight.”
In addition to his BMW and Ducati machines, Dunlop will also ride a Moto3 Honda for Burrows Engineering/RK Racing this weekend.
Browne will be equally as determined to produce a repeat for Russell’s BPE-backed Northern Ireland team, while the Cork man will also be a contender in the Superbike class on his MB Racing/Russell Racing Honda.
“It was very satisfying,” said Browne after his 2025 Supersport double.
“I got out there in front with a clear road and there’s no better track to be out there on your own, so I was happy with that.”
Skerries man Sweeney is coming off the back of a hat-trick at the Kells Road Races in Co Meath on Sunday.
Sweeney pushed Dunlop in the Open Superbike race last June, breaking Dan Kneen’s 2018 lap record as he finished only half-a-second behind the Ballymoney man.
A high class line-up features Shaun Anderson, a podium finisher in the Tandragee feature race 12 months ago, and Manx rider Conor Cummins, who rode at the event last summer for the first time in 18 years.
Two non-championship races are scheduled on Friday evening after qualifying (time permitting), including the Supersport and Senior Support events, both over four laps.
Roads close on Friday morning at 11am and will reopen no later than 9pm. On Saturday, roads are closed from 9:30am to 7pm for the main race programme.