With the Panigale V2, Ducati rewrites a history of success at the TT: from Hailwood to Dunlop

This year Ducati celebrates 100 years of history, and the Isle of Man TT is an integral part of the company’s sporting successes. The formidable triumph of Mike Hailwood in the 1978 Senior TT, when he made his sensational comeback to racing, remains one of the most prestigious and iconic achievements ever for the Bologna-based marque, which has relived those glory days thanks to the Panigale V2, the benchmark among the Supersport bikes.

In fact, over the last three Supersport TT races, the Ducati Panigale V2 has scored a hat-trick. Following the 2025 double—preceded by two podiums (2nd and 3rd) by Davey Todd in 2024—Michael Dunlop added victory in the first race of the 2026 edition for the category. It was his 34th career win at the Isle of Man TT, three of which were achieved with the twin-cylinder from Borgo Panigale.

The Panigale V2 brought Ducati back to the TT podium in 2024 thanks to Davey Todd, 11 years on from the results achieved by John McGuinness and Paul Bird’s MonsterMob Ducati team in the 2003 edition, when he finished 2nd in the Formula 1 race and 3rd in the Senior TT. Michael Dunlop’s victories in 2025 and 2026 put an end to a 30-year drought: previously, the last win had been by Robert Holden in the Singles Race at the 1995 TT with the iconic Ducati Supermoto 572cc. The last Bologna-built bike to win at the TT—a feat only narrowly missed by the legendary 916 (second in the 1995 Senior TT with Iain Duffus, third in the 1996 Formula 1 Race with Michael Rutter).

Altogether, Ducati has so far collected 22 victories at the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. The first came in 1969 with Alistair Mike Rogers triumphing in the 250 Production Race on a Mach 1, a success repeated the following year by the celebrated Chas Mortimer. Mike Hailwood’s victory in the 1978 Senior TT with the 900SS remains the most representative and unforgettable in Ducati’s Isle of Man history, not to mention Tony Rutter’s wins in the early ’80s with the 750 TTF1. To return to the top among the “big bikes,” we’ll have to wait for Michael Dunlop’s Panigale V4 R project to materialize, postponed to 2027...