Dunlop to ride Rotary Norton at Classic TTÂ
Eleven time TT Race winner Michael Dunlop is set to ride his father Robert’s Rotary Norton in the ‘Joey Dunlop Road Racing Legends – The Rivals Parade Lap.
The parade, a tribute to twenty-six time TT Race winner Joey Dunlop, takes place on the Isle of Man on Saturday 23rd August as part of the Classic TT Races.
The Ballymoney man, who won four TT Races this year riding BMW’s including the historic PokerStars Senior TT Race seventy five years after George Meier’s victory, will represent his late father Robert in a tribute lap that has been created to recognise some of his Uncle Joey’s greatest rivals across his road and circuit racing career
The bike, the brainchild of ex-Norton employee Brian Crighton, is currently on display at the National Motorcycle Museum. Crighton has overhauled the bike, which hasn’t run for many years, in preparation for its return to the Isle of Man Mountain Course. As well as participating in Saturday’s parade, the bike will also be on display in the race paddock behind the grandstand during the Classic TT Race meeting.
“I am very keen to showcase and celebrate the Museum and our collection in live action events and display our bikes as they were meant to be viewed and the Classic TT Races certainly fits with that objective”, said James Hewing, the director of the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham. “The parade will not only represent a tribute to both Joey and Robert Dunlop but also the engineering achievement that the Rotary Norton represents.”
Norton’s Rotary Racing campaign was one of British sport’s great giant-killing stories. Starting out in 1987 with little more than a promising engine and the backing of the company’s new owner, Norton returned to racing after many years’ absence to score devastating success against the world’s biggest marques
The first Rotary racer was the red, silver and blue RC588 with an air-cooled twin-rotor engine. Simon Buckmaster and Trevor Nation raced a scaled up version in 1988 to great success in the British Formula One Championship. The John Player Special sponsorship in 1989, which saw Steve Spray scoop the F1 Championship that year, evoked Player Norton days of the Seventies and saw the new liquid-cooled RCW588 in its iconic black, grey and gold livery.
The machine Michael will ride will be the same machine his father rode in 1990, notching a Norton double in the North West 200 and also finishing third in the F1 TT of that year. Michael will complete the tribute to his father by wearing specially created replica leathers and helmet.
The bike will also appear at the VMCC’s Festival Of Jurby on the Isle of Man on Sunday 24th August.
Carl Fogarty to ride Honda RC30 at Classic TT
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Seven times World Champion Carl Fogarty MBE has confirmed he will be attending the 2014 Classic TT presented by Bennetts with the road racing legend riding a Honda RC30 in the ‘Joey Dunlop Road Racing Legend – The Rivals’ Parade Lap’ sponsored by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and also a Ducati in the Classic Racer Magazine Classic TT Lap of Honour.
Having won the Newcomers Manx Grand Prix in 1985, the Blackburn racer was a star turn at the Isle of Man TT Races between 1986 and 1992 taking three wins and seven podiums as well as the outright lap record in 1992, his speed of 122.61mph remaining unbroken for seven years.
It was his rides in the World Formula One Championship that initially made his name, battling with Joey Dunlop in each of his World Championship winning years, with wins at the TT coming in the 1989 750cc Production, 1990 Formula One and 1990 Senior Races. It’s perhaps his runner-up spot to Steve Hislop in the 1992 Senior Race, voted the greatest TT race of all time, that he’s most fondly remembered for however.
That race saw Foggy swap the lead with Hislop throughout the six-lap race and although he eventually had to settle for second, just 4.4s behind the Scot, he did have the consolation of claiming the outright lap record on the final lap.
Fogarty, of course, went on to become the most successful World Superbike rider of all time with 4 world titles and 59 world championship race wins before injury ended his career early in 2000 but he’s always maintained his relationship with the island, not only stating his love for the Mountain Course but also how his race wins remain the most special out of all his successes.
Speaking ahead of his return to the Island for the Classic TT, Carl commented:Â “The Isle of Man holds a special place in my heart and I have said many times before that it was that part of my career which I look back on with the most happiness and pride. I can’t wait to see the new Classic TT event for myself after hearing good things about last year’s first event and I am particularly excited to be part of the tribute to Joey Dunlop. Joey was a special rider and someone I looked up to and wanted to beat in those early World Championship years.”
