Joey Dunlop

Joey Dunlop

Nation:	United Kingdom
Isle of Man TT First start: 1977 Jubilee Classic Last start: 2000 Ultra-Lightweight 125 TT statistics Participation Victories Podiums 25th 26th 40

Before the start of the Senior TT 1992

Award ceremony 1992 - the 14th victory

Joey at Creg-ny-Baa (in the background: Kate's Cottage)

Statue on the Isle of Man ( 54 ° 15 ′ 9.42 ″  N , 4 ° 27 ′ 45.82 ″  W )

William Joseph "Joey" Dunlop OBE (born February 25, 1952 in Ballymoney , Northern Ireland , † July 2, 2000 in Tallinn , Estonia ) was a British motorcycle racer .

Dunlop is considered one of the most successful road racers in history and was already a legend in his lifetime and known as the King of the Mountain . Among other things, he was able to win the Isle of Man TT , the most difficult motorcycle race in the world, 26 times in his career .

His younger brother Robert and his nephews William and Michael were or are also motorcycle racers.

Career

The beginning

Joey Dunlop contested his first race in 1969, and in 1976 he took part in the Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man for the first time . Without knowledge of the demanding, more than 60 km long Snaefell Mountain Course , he achieved the finish in all races and - for a beginner - the respectable 16th place. The very next year he won the Jubilee Classic and in 1980 the 1000 cc class for the first time on a Yamaha .

The Honda era

In 1983 Dunlop signed a long-term contract with Honda ("Bikes for life") and between 1983 and 1988 was five times TT-F1 world champion . On the Isle of Man, he achieved three wins in 1985, 1988 and 2000 in the same year. He was one of the few who could easily switch from a 1000 cc machine to a 125 cc motorcycle within minutes and achieved over 200 victories in his career.

The Northern Irishman achieved his greatest victory in 2000, the 32nd year of his racing career: at the age of 48, he won the TT-F1, the then premier class at the Isle of Man TT, on a completely new, difficult-to-control Honda VTR 1000 SP1 .

For his sporting success he received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1986 .

Deadly accident

Joey Dunlop had an accident on July 2, 2000 in a self-supported international race on the Pirita-Kose-Kloostrimetsa in Tallinn , which was not part of any championship. When it started to rain, he fell with his 125 cm³ machine and hit a tree. He left five children in addition to his wife, Linda.

He was buried in the cemetery of Garryduff Presbyterian Church near Ballymoney. Buried next to him is his brother Robert Dunlop , who died on May 15, 2008 in a training accident.

In 2002 a section of the route on the Isle of Man was named after him and a memorial was erected.

statistics

title

• 1982 - TT-F1 world champion on a Honda
• 1983 - TT-F1 world champion on a Honda
• 1984 - TT-F1 world champion on a Honda
• 1985 - TT-F1 world champion on a Honda
• 1986 - TT-F1 world champion on a Honda

Isle of Man TT

With a total of 26 wins on the Isle of Man, Joey Dunlop is the record holder, followed by John McGuinness with 23 wins.

In 25 years he stayed on the island only eight times without a win, with a total of 98 starts he won 80 awards. He drove over 250 laps at an average speed of more than 180 km / h, his fastest lap in 2000 with 199.34 km / h.

• 1977 - Jubilee TT
• 1980 - Classic TT (1000 cm³)
• 1983 - TT-F1
• 1984 - TT-F1
• 1985 - TT-TF1, Senior TT (750 cm³) and Junior TT (250 cm³)
• 1986 - TT-F1
• 1987 - TT-F1 and Senior TT (750 cm³)
• 1988 - TT-F1, Senior TT (750 cm³) and Junior TT (250 cm³)
• 1992 - Ultra Lightweight TT (125 cm³)
• 1993 - Ultra Lightweight TT (125 cm³)
• 1994 - Junior TT (250 cm³) and Lightweight TT (125 cm³)
• 1995 - Senior TT (750 cm³) and Lightweight TT (250 cm³)
• 1996 - Lightweight TT (250 cm³) and Ultra Lightweight TT (125 cm³)
• 1997 - Lightweight TT (250 cm³)
• 1998 - Lightweight TT (250 cm³)
• 2000 - TT-F1, Lightweight (250 cm³) and Ultra Lightweight (125 cm³)

Ulster Grand Prix

At the Ulster Grand Prix , Joey Dunlop won a total of 24 times.

• 1979 - 500 cc, 1000 cc
• 1980 - 250 cc, Classic Race
• 1983 - TT-F1
• 1984 - 250 cm³, 500 cm³, TT-F1
• 1985 - 250 cm³, 500 cm³, TT-F1
• 1986 - Classic Race
• 1988 - 250 cc (race 2)
• 1990 - TT-F1
• 1991 - 750 cm³ (races 1 and 2)
• 1992 - 125 cc
• 1994 - 125 cc, superbike (race 1)
• 1995 - 250/400 cm³ (races 1 and 2), superbike (race 1)
• 1997 - Junior 250 cc
• 1999 - Superbike (Race 2)

North West 200 Victories

At the North West 200 , Joey Dunlop had 13 wins.

year	class	machine	Average speed
1979	1000 cc	Yamaha	120.34  mph (193.67  km / h )
	Match Race	Yamaha	120.01 mph (193.14 km / h)
1981	1300 cc	Honda	119.83 mph (192.85 km / h)
1983	500 cc	Honda	106.05 mph (170.67 km / h)
	Superbike race 1	Honda	105.64 mph (170.01 km / h)
1984	MCN Masters Superbike	Honda	107.02 mph (172.23 km / h)
1985	250 cc race 1	Honda	110.95 mph (178.56 km / h)
	350 cc	Honda	106.05 mph (170.67 km / h)
	Superbike race 2	Honda	118.59 mph (190.85 km / h)
1986	Superbike race 2	Honda	108.05 mph (173.89 km / h)
1987	Production 750 cc	Honda	108.77 mph (175.05 km / h)
	Superbike race 1	Honda	113.29 mph (182.32 km / h)
	Superbike race 2	Honda	118.61 mph (190.88 km / h)
1988	Production 750 cc	Honda	109.09 mph (175.56 km / h)

personality

Dunlop's charitable work for orphans was less well known . Several times he collected old clothes in his area, loaded his racing truck with them and drove to Romania , Bosnia and Albania . In 1996 he was awarded the OBE for his charitable activities .

Joey Dunlop was an active member of the Freemasons Association . The Freemason Lodge Joey Dunlop Lodge of Mark Master Masons No 1881 was founded in his honor on June 9, 2007 .

“I never really wanted to be a superstar. I just want to be myself. I hope that's how people remember me. "

“I never really wanted to be a superstar. I just wanna be myself I hope people will remember me that way. "

- Joey Dunlop

References

Filmography

• 2014: Road TT - Addiction to Speed ( Road ), (Documentary)

Web links

Commons : Joey Dunlop  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Joey Dunlop Tribute from the TT website (English)
• Joey Dunlop on the Isle of Man TT official website.
• Joey Dunlop on the official website of the Superbike and Supersport World Championship
• Joey Dunlop at motorsportmemorial.org (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Famous Freemasons Vannevar B. Freemason ( Memento of the original from February 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the homepage of the Lodge St. Patrick (accessed March 23, 2013) 
2. ↑ The Consecration of the “Joey Dunlop Lodge of Mark Master Masons No 1881” ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the homepage of www.irishfreemasonry.com (accessed March 23, 2013)