Michael Dunlop won his first Isle of Man TT race in 2009.
Dunlop’s breakthrough came in the second Supersport TT race of the 2009 festival, riding a 600cc Yamaha. He won the four-lap race in 1 hour, 14 minutes and 34.80 seconds at an average speed of 121.416 mph, finishing just ahead of Bruce Anstey and Conor Cummins.
The victory came two years after Dunlop made his TT debut in 2007. It was also part of a remarkable family story: Michael was the son of Robert Dunlop, brother of William Dunlop and nephew of Joey Dunlop, all prominent road racers. His 2009 win continued the Dunlop family’s long association with the Mountain Course.
The result is sometimes confused with Dunlop’s 2006 victory in the Newcomers Manx Grand Prix, which was not an Isle of Man TT race. It is also distinct from his later expansion into other TT classes. The 2009 Supersport triumph was the first race win recorded in his TT career.