Robert Dunlop

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Robert Dunlop in the 1992 Senior TT

Robert Dunlop (born November 25, 1960 in Ballymoney , Northern Ireland , † May 15, 2008 in Coleraine , Northern Ireland) was a British motorcycle racer .

Dunlop was one of the most successful motorcycle racers in Northern Ireland and mainly started in the numerous dangerous road races in his British homeland. In his career he achieved five wins and a total of 14 podium finishes at the Tourist Trophy and 15 wins at the North West 200 .

Robert Dunlop was the brother of the 26-time TT winner and five-time Formula TT world champion Joey Dunlop , who had a fatal accident in Estonia in 2000 . His son William also had a fatal accident on July 7, 2018 in the Skerries 100 road race . Son Michael is active as a motorcycle racer.

Career

Robert Dunlop contested his first motorcycle road race in 1979, in the following years he competed regularly in the numerous of his Northern Irish homeland and was very successful. In 1989 he won on a 500 cc - Honda the Macau Grand Prix , defeating thereby Phillip McCallen and Steve Hislop , both 750 cc machines were out. In the same year he celebrated his first win in the 125 cc class at the Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man .

Dunlop (right) with Steve Hislop (left) and Brian Reid , 1992

From 1990 Robert Dunlop started for Norton on the Wankel engine RCW588 and in the first year he achieved third place in the F1 class at the Tourist Trophy. He was able to repeat the TT victory of the previous year in the 125cc class. In 1991, Dunlop won both the 125 and 250 classes at the world's toughest motorcycle race .

In 1994 Dunlop had a serious accident at the TT F1 race in which he sustained numerous injuries and which he only survived with a lot of luck. Despite some permanent damage - among other things, a leg had to be shortened because of numerous broken bones - Robert Dunlop started again in motorcycle races from 1996, but from then on limited himself to the 125 cc class. In 1998 Dunlop won the ultra-lightweight class of the Tourist Trophy.

In 2004 Robert Dunlop ended his career for the time being. After his injured leg was surgically extended again, he returned in the 2005 season. In 2006 he celebrated his 15th victory in the North West 200 race in Northern Ireland.

Deadly accident

On May 15, 2008, Robert Dunlop had an accident in qualifying training for the 250 cc class for the North West 200 . His Honda had a piston jam at around 160  mph that knocked the Northern Irish off the motorcycle. The following driver Darren Burns could no longer evade and rolled over him. Dunlop was taken to Causeway Hospital in Coleraine , where he died shortly after 10 p.m. of severe chest injuries.

Two days later, on May 17, Dunlop's son Michael won the NW200 250cc race and dedicated the victory to his father, who was buried next day in the Garryduff Presbyterian Church cemetery near Ballymoney, next to his brother Joey.

References

Filmography

Web links

Commons : Robert Dunlop  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Recent race winners in the Macau Grand Prix (English), www.f1network.net , accessed on May 19, 2008
  2. ↑ 1991 Ex-Works JPS Norton NRS588 Specification ( Memento of April 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English), www.motorbike-search-engine.co.uk , accessed on May 19, 2008
  3. ^ Robert Dunlop Story DVD (English), www.dukevideo.com , accessed May 19, 2008
  4. ↑ Dunlop dies after motorbike crash , news.bbc.co.uk , accessed on May 19, 2008
  5. ↑ Dunlop son wins NW200 race for dad ( Memento from June 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English), www.thenorthwest200.com , accessed on May 19, 2008
  6. ^ Dunlop funeral to take place in Antrim , www.ireland.com , accessed May 19, 2008
personal data
SURNAME Dunlop, Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British motorcycle racer
DATE OF BIRTH November 25, 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH Ballymoney
DATE OF DEATH May 15, 2008
Place of death Coleraine