Ballymoney's Michael Dunlop was a relieved man after yesterday's Superstock TT race. Relieved to have won a big bike race on the Mountain Course and relieved to have had a trouble-free ride after a multitude of problems in both practice and the races.
A number of engine blow ups in practice saw him unsure of whether or not he'd finish the Superbike race on Saturday and although he did see the chequered flag, a problem with the rear spindle at the first pit stop meant he dropped all the way back to 15th before fighting his way back up to 5th. He then led both starts of the Supersport race on Monday morning before an oil leak from the side case gasket eliminated him on both occasions.
However, he put in a faultless ride in Monday evening's Superstock race with a superb second lap destroying the opposition and sending him over 15 seconds clear. The only man to lap in excess of 129mph, Dunlop eventually won by almost 19 seconds.
Speaking afterwards, Dunlop, who's still only 23, said; "After all the problems in the Supersport race, I was beginning to think I'd got out the wrong side of bed this morning as nothing went right in either race start, especially the first when I had a couple of major moments.
People said I should go and see the fairies for a bit of luck but after the morning I had I was away with the fairies so it's good to bounce back with a victory. I was putting myself under a huge amount of pressure but I tried hard on the first lap and once I got a board which said 'P1' I just pressed on. The stockers are hard bikes to ride round here and I had a couple of near offs on the second lap, nothing savage but enough of a warning, but that second lap broke the rest of the field.
"On the third lap, I saw 'P1 +19' up on the Mountain and I knew even John McGuinness couldn't pull that back on me. The bike never missed a beat and it's nice to get a big bike win as people were beginning to label me as a Supersport specialist even though I'm a big lad and those bikes don't really suit me. I've been a bit of a prick to the lads in the team so it's great to be able to pull it round and get the win - it's the best way to repay them.
Dunlop dedicated the win to Derek Brien who lost his life in the incident at Gorse Lea that caused the first race start to be red flagged. "My sponsor's best friends with Derek's sponsor and we've had a few battles in recent years so it's a big loss. My heart goes out to all his friends and family."
