Michael Dunlop has done it again: fantastic hat-trick in the Senior Classic TT

Michael Dunlop adds another gem to the crown of the King of the Isle of Man. After his wins in Formula 1 and Lightweight, he also dominated the most prestigious race of the Classic TT, once again on the same 1996 Suzuki GSX-R 750 SRAD fielded by Steve Wheatman’s team.

Whether it’s modern or vintage bikes—even if relatively recent, as in this case—the secret to mastering the 60.7 kilometers of the Mountain Course is always the same: twist the throttle the right way. From the vantage point of his 36 wins in the real TT, the one run in June, Michael Dunlop was one of the most highly anticipated stars of the Classic, which in intention is a historic reenactment raced with the queens of yesteryear, but in practice is a flat-out speed contest.

With a glorious four-cylinder that went out of production back in 1996, MD held his own against the missile-like Kawasaki 750s masterfully ridden by Jamie Coward and Nathan Harrison. Given the starting numbers (Dunlop with his trademark #6) and the #4 and #3 of his rivals starting ahead, this Classic TT edition was practically a Grand Prix with the three protagonists locked in an ultra-tight duel. Dunlop had to dig deep into his phenomenal repertoire to take this victory: on the second of four laps he clocked 17'36"238, just one minute (over 60.7 kilometers...) shy of the outright record set by Peter Hickman on the BMW in 16'36"114 in the (real) 2023 Senior TT.

To keep Jamie Coward at bay, the road racing ace had to push again to 17'40"902, crossing the line with just eleven seconds in hand over his rival. The podium of this frantic race was completed by Manxman Nathan Harrison.

Michael Dunlop wraps up this triumphant 2026 on the roads of the Isle of Man with six wins. He had taken three in the TT in June: a Supersport double with the Ducati Panigale V2 and victory in the lone SportBike race with the Paton. Then at the Classic he brought home another incredible treble. If we really want to split hairs, he missed out on the most prestigious races, namely Superbike and the Senior TT, swept this year by Dean Harrison with the factory Honda. The rematch is postponed to 2027, when in the two most important races Michael Dunlop could field the Ducati Panigale V4 R, set aside this year in favor of the better-known BMW M1000RR.

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