Retro Rewind: Michael Dunlop's utter dejection after runner-up finish at 2010 Isle of Man TT underlined 'winning is everything' mentality

Yorkshireman Hutchinson made history at the event 10 years ago as he won five solo races in a week on the Padgett’s Honda machines, but he had to pull out all the stops to beat the young Ballymoney rider in the second Supersport race.

He trailed Dunlop at Ballaugh Bridge on the final lap, but Hutchinson’s edge over the Mountain section ultimately proved the difference as he held on for his fourth victory of race week, equalling Ulsterman Phillip McCallen’s 1996 four-timer.

Dunlop had the consolation of setting a new lap record on his Street Sweep Yamaha for the class at 127.836mph, but it mattered little to the 22-year-old, who won his maiden TT race in the Supersport class the previous year.

He was criticised by some sections of the media for his ungracious reaction to finishing second behind Hutchinson, but for Dunlop, winning is everything.

From a young age Michael was told time and again that ‘second is the first loser’ by his legendary racing father Robert.

It is a maxim that he resolutely believes in.

In the lead up to the TT the following year, Dunlop provided some insight into the mentality instilled in him by his dad and made no apology for the display of emotion he showed in parc ferme in 2010.

He told me: “I’m there to win races – that’s what I’m there for – and the pressure I put on myself to win is more than any man could.

“A lot of people wanted to slag me off last year because of the way I was after I lost the Supersport races.

“If someone sitting behind a keyboard writing nonsense on some of those websites at 3am in the morning wants to have a go at me, that’s their business – I don’t worry about them.

“If I get beat I’m going to be sick as a sack and that’s just the way is it,” added Dunlop.

“Second is the first loser and that’s the way it is – it’s the way it will always be with me.

“Maybe people think it’s ungrateful and that I’m talking nonsense, but if you dedicate yourself as much as I do and put yourself through all the mental and physical pressure to do well and it doesn’t happen, you’re going to be disappointed.

“It’s called competitiveness and if I get down about losing a race sure that’s my own business – I don’t ask anyone to listen to me on the radio.”

Dunlop also unexpectedly finished as the runner-up in the Superbike TT in 2010 on the Robinson Honda, announcing his arrival as a potential winner of the blue riband class with a stunning lap at 130.213mph, making him officially the fifth fastest rider ever to have lapped the Mountain Course at the time.

Considering he only made his debut in 2007, he quickly became a force to be reckoned with on the island, but then Dunlop was never prepared to wait patiently for success to come his way.

He added: “I’m not here for a long time, everyone knows that, so let’s start and notch up the good stuff now.

“I want to be making history and standing there at the top with the best of them. I want to put my foot down and win TT races.”

He certainly made good on his claims. At the TT in 2011, Dunlop beat John McGuinness and Guy Martin in the Superstock race to secure his first big-bike success around the Mountain Course.

Today, he is the third most successful TT rider in history with 19 victories, with only his uncle, Joey (26), and McGuinness (23) ahead of him on the all-time roll of honour.

Dunlop had been due to ride a Ducati V4-R this year at the TT for Paul Bird’s British Superbike outfit until the Covid-19 pandemic has wiped out the iconic festival.

Whether that partnership will continue in 2021 remains to be seen, but the 31-year-old will no doubt return to Mona’s Isle as he bids to add to his tally next June.

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