William Dunlop (23 July 1985 – 7 July 2018) was a professional motorcycle racer from Northern Ireland who died as a result of a racing incident. Part of a motorcycle racing dynasty, William was the elder brother of

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

; both were sons of the late

Robert Dunlop Stephen Robert Dunlop (25 November 1960 – 15 May 2008) was a Northern Irish motorcycle racer, the younger brother of fellow road racer, the late Joey Dunlop, and the father of William Dunlop and Michael Dunlop. Like Joey, Robert died after ...

, and nephews of the late Joey Dunlop. He died as a result of a crash at a racing event in the Republic of Ireland.

Career

William started racing 125 cc bikes in 2000, when he was 15. During his racing career, he accumulated 108 Irish National Road Race wins.William Dunlop killed in crash at Skerries 100 road races
'' BBC Sport Northern Ireland'', 7 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018 In addition, he also achieved numerous victories at two of Ireland's prestigious road racing events, the

North West 200 The International North West 200 is a Northern Irish motorsport event established in 1929 for road racing motorcycles held on a street circuit known as ''the Triangle'' between the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush in Causeway Coast ...

(4) and the Ulster Grand Prix (7). His best results at the Isle of Man TT saw him securing the third tier on the podium on four occasions with his best result being the runner up position in the 2016

TT Zero TT Zero – an electric motorsport event introduced for the 2010 Isle of Man TT races – replaced the similar TTXGP race as a 1-lap (37.733 miles) circuit of the Snaefell Mountain Course. The TT Zero event as an officially sanctioned Isle of M ...

. Until late 2015, Dunlop had raced for Tyco BMW Motorrad Racing campaigning the

BMW S1000RR BMW S1000RR is a race oriented sport bike initially made by BMW Motorrad to compete in the 2009 Superbike World Championship, that is now in commercial production. It was introduced in Munich in April 2008, and is powered by a four-cylinder eng ...

and a Suzuki GSX-R600. The 2016 season saw him competing at the main International Road Races aboard Yamaha YZF-R1 and Yamaha YZF-R6 in the Superbike and Supersport categories. In addition, Dunlop campaigned a

Kawasaki ZX-10R The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R is a motorcycle in the Ninja sport bike series from the Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki, the successor to the Ninja ZX-9R. It was originally released in 2004 and has been updated and revised throughout the years. It co ...

Superstock machine, provided by a different team, during selected rounds of the British Championship. Dunlop also competed in eleven TT race seasons between 2006 and 2017, with a second place and four third places being his best results, in the 125 cc, SuperSport and Classic races. He won two races at the

with his first victory being in the 2009 250 cc event. 2009 also saw Dunlop take part in the last ever 250cc Grand Prix race at Valencia finishing 18th on a P J Flynn Bigman Racing Honda.

2014

Dunlop crashed his Tyco Suzuki Superbike in the final race of the week at the

2014 Isle of Man TT The 2014 Isle of Man TT Festival was held between Saturday 24 May and Friday 6 June 2014 on the 37.73-mile Isle of Man TT Mountain Course. The main races were six solo motorcycle races and two sidecar races. The festival also included Pre-TT ...

, during the Senior TT event. He led the race on time briefly during the first lap, but ran wide through the Graham Memorial corner on the mountain section on the third lap, running off the road up against the adjacent embankment, resulting in two fractures to his left leg.

2015

Dunlop got his 2015 season off to a positive start by clinching a brace of wins at a rain-soaked

Tandragee 100 Tandragee () is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is built on a hillside overlooking the Cusher River, in the civil parish of Ballymore and the historic barony of Orior Lower. It had a population of 3,486 people in the 2011 Censu ...

. In the Supersport Class, Dunlop put in a very convincing performance on board the CD Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 and rounded the meeting off by taking victory in the Senior Open Race on the TAS

Death

Dunlop sustained fatal head injuries as a result of a crash during practice for the 2018 Skerries 100 Road Races in County Dublin. His Yamaha YZF-R1 bike spilled oil from the engine sump onto the back wheel, and as a result Dunlop lost control and crashed into a ditch and trees at the Sam's Tunnel part of the circuit. On 26 February 2022, a statue of William Dunlop was added to the Memorial Garden in Ballymoney, where there were memorials to his father Robert and uncle Joey.Memorial: Statue unveiled of tragic road-racer Dunlop in his native Ballymoney
''

Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant po ...

'', 26 February 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022

Career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

Races by year

Complete TT record

References

External links

Isle of Man Database
TT biography
William Dunlop Racing
Official Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunlop, William 1985 births 2018 deaths Isle of Man TT riders Motorcycle racers from Northern Ireland People from Ballymoney 250cc World Championship riders Motorcycle racers who died while racing Sport deaths in the Republic of Ireland William