Michael Dunlop - eight of his most memorable IOM TT wins

Michael Dunlop stands on the threshold of a historic achievement at this year's Isle of Man TT as he sits one short of his uncle Joey's record of 26 wins at the famous motorsport event held over the 37.73-mile Mountain Course public roads circuit.

Michael will compete in all eight solo races this year on a range of different machinery as he attempts to add to his tally of 25 victories and potentially equal and surpass the number accumulated by his revered late uncle, who was killed in a racing accident in Estonia in July 2000.

Joey's all-time wins' record has stood since June of that year after he secured a hat-trick of successes on what sadly turned out to be his final appearance at the TT.

His nephew closed in on that benchmark with a four-timer last year, so with racing scheduled to commence on Saturday, we decided to take a look back at some of his most memorable triumphs at the event.

Dunlop secured an emphatic maiden TT success at just 20 years of age in the second Supersport race of 2009 in which he led from start to finish to win at an average race speed of 121.416mph in mixed circuit conditions.

Riding a Yamaha, he beat New Zealander Bruce Anstey by 31 seconds, with Manxman Conor Cummins third.

Dunlop set the fastest lap of the race on his final circuit at 125.07mph and became the first member of the Dunlop family to win a TT race since his late uncle Joey completed a hat-trick in 2000.

The last of Michael's dad Robert's five wins came in 1998. He lost his life after an incident at the North West 200 in Northern Ireland in 2008.

"My dad gave me the knowledge. I went as quickly as I dared in the damp conditions. I had to go for it," said Michael, who revealed that he was riding his spare bike and had considered quitting the meeting after failing to finish his first three races.

Dunlop took his first Superbike race victory and his first in the premier big bike class in 2013 as part of the Honda Racing team on his way to the first of two four-timers at the event in consecutive years.

After six laps and 226 miles, Dunlop enjoyed a 41-second advantage over Cameron Donald, with John McGuinness completing a Honda 1-2-3 a further 41 seconds in arrears.

"Just fantastic, a dream come true," an elated Dunlop commented post-race.

"It hasn't sunk in yet, it really is something special to win this race."

Michael ended German manufacturer BMW's 75-year wait for a victory in the big bike class with a stunning win in the 2014 Superbike race.

He secured his eighth TT success with 20.5 seconds to spare over English racer turned TV personality Guy Martin, with Cummins completing the podium.

"I went flat out from the start and then nursed her home in the later stages. I knew I had a good lead over Guy," he said.

"I'm over the moon for everyone involved with the team," added Dunlop, who went on to take his maiden win in the Senior race that year on his BMW.

The Ballymoney rider recorded the first sub-17 minute lap of the TT Mountain Course and became the first competitor to circulate at an average lap speed in excess of 133mph in taking his 12th TT triumph by winning the Superbike race in 2016.

BMW-mounted Dunlop finished ahead of two other TT greats in the race, ending with a 19-second cushion over Ian Hutchinson, with John McGuinness another 54 seconds behind.

"The bike never missed a beat and it's great to be a winner again," said Dunlop.

"This wasn't a big factory set-up with a big budget. It was a bike built in a small workshop but the guys did a brilliant job."

As in 2014, Dunlop went on to make it a big bike double by winning the Senior race in a race record time and pushing the lap record to 133.962.

The Northern Irishman claimed TT win number 15 with his third success in the blue riband Senior event in 2017 on a brand new Suzuki Superbike, taking him above the late Mike Hailwood into fourth place in the all-time solo winners' list.

Having previously won races on Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki machinery, Dunlop topped the podium positions in the colours of a fourth Japanese manufacturer in the restarted race, 13.3 seconds ahead of Peter Hickman.

"Today we have made the impossible possible on a brand new bike," said Dunlop.

"The bike never missed a beat. Everyone remembers who won the Senior."

Having previously won Superbike, Senior, Supersport and Superstock races, Dunlop emphasised his versatility by taking a first success in the Supertwins class and his first on a Paton machine in 2018.

He produced a stunning record lap of 122.750mph to win by 14 seconds from Irish rider Derek McGee.

"I was planning my race as four laps are hard round here for these bikes - it's a hard and heavy pace," he outlined.

"I knew it wasn't going to be a sprint so I just bedded myself in."

Michael occupied centre spot on the rostrum for the first time in five years in a premier big bike event when he won the 2023 Superbike TT.

Dunlop led from start to finish on his Hawk Racing Honda to finish eight seconds ahead of Hickman and join John McGuinness as the second most successful TT rider of all time on 23 wins.

He set a new lap record for the race at 135.046mph in the process.

"People thought I couldn't win on the big bikes any more. I'm delighted to prove that I still can," said Dunlop after the race.

Michael became the first rider to lap the TT course at over 130mph on a Supersport machine as he completed a double in the class by winning race two on his Yamaha in 2023 to move to 25 career wins.

A second double in the category in consecutive years also took his record tally of victories in the middleweight class to 11.

He got the better of runner-up and chief rival Hickman to achieve four wins at the Manx event for the third time in his career.

"I knew I had to ride the Yamaha to its full potential but the wee bike was great. To do the 130mph lap is pretty cool. I knew I could do it - I'm always trying to push the boundaries," he said.