Ballymoney’s Michael Dunlop heads the Monster Supersport TT field for 2014 and wants to be the first man to crack a 130mph lap in the middleweight class.

The Irishman shattered the previous lap record last year on his own MD Honda when he raised the bar to a staggering 128.666mph and he firmly believes he can take it to the next level this year.

“I’ve proved I can win TT’s on a Supersport bike and I’ve also got the lap and race records. But what I really want is to be the first person to lap at over 130mph on a 600cc bike and I think it is within my reach,” said Dunlop.

“I need to take about 11 seconds off my best lap, which is a big ask. But my bike is going to be stronger this year and when I set the lap record I made a few little mistakes and lost quite a lot of time. So I know it is possible, it’s just about putting that perfect lap together for 37.73 miles.”