Robert Dunlop: Behind amiable eyes and a quietly uttered Ulster accent is an indomitable and resilient man. A small, unassuming smiling man, whose body has taken a battering from a treacherous sport, a sport that has taken many lives. His body endured countless accidents which did not deter him but only served to intensify his determination.
Robert Dunlop, a diminutive rider with enormous resolve and devotion to motorcycle racing continues to compete and win races well into his early forties.
The Isle of Man TT 2004 was the last time spectators witnessed this plucky rider whizzing like a bullet around the mountainy Manx circuit. The slight but strong jockey-like racer's time on the TT circuit was terminated this year when the 125cc race was discontinued. "It's a pity that the 125 race has been dropped at the TT. I didn't do well this year so I would've liked another crack at it. It's a buggar," said Robert.
As a consequence of his many injuries throughout his career he could only ride in the 125cc race. "The 125 is the only machine I can manage because of my hand," he said.
Robert's TT career began in 1983 when he raced in the Newcomers 350cc Manx Grand Prix. This was his first TT victory. In the 1986 Formula 2 TT Robert crashed at the Thirteenth Milestone shattering his jawbone, breaking his ankle, shoulder blade, ribs and puncturing a lung. But the brave Ballymoney rider could not be deterred, and he bounced back into the saddle to ride in the Ulster GP later that year.
He took his first 125cc TT win in 1989 with a new lap record of 103.02mph. He beat his only lap record the following year at 104.09mph. In 1991 he scored a double victory taking the 125cc Race for the third year in succession at a record 103.68mph with a new lap record at 106.71mph and won the Junior TT at 114.89mph.
His 125cc success continued at the Isle of Man establishing the inextricable link between Robert Dunlop and the 125cc race. He finished second in the 1992 and second the following year. In 1994 Robert broke his tibula, fibula, right arm, ribs, and smashed his heel when he was catapulted from his bike at 130mph on the TT circuit near the village of Ballaugh.
But even this near fatal accident didn't put a halt to the buoyant rider's gallop. "I had very serious injuries but I've overcome them and things have worked out quite well. I've come back to racing," he said at the time. Robert received £700,000 (about €1,050,000) in compensation following this horrific accident in a landmark court ruling. He successfully argued that the accident robbed him of the chance of becoming a top World Superbike star.
"I think my abilities and determination were such that I would have been one of the top three superbike riders in the world in the second half of the 1990s," he said. He bravely resumed racing in 1997 to take a remarkable third place in the 125cc race at the Isle of Man.
In 1998 he won the Ultra-Lightweight race and in 1999 finished fifth. In 2000 he rode a Honda in the Ultra-Lightweight and brought it home in third place.
The death of his beloved older brother Joey saw Robert continue racing at the age of 40. His fans must've thought he'd had enough and would probably give up but Robert continued, as he always did, in the face of adversity. The legendary Joey Dunlop had a remarkable motorcycling career before his untimely death at a race in Estonia in 2000. He won five Formula 1 titles and took 26 TT victories.
Dubbed the 'king of the road' he remains Northern Ireland's greatest sporting hero. Joey was awarded the MBE for his motorcycling achievements and the OBE for charity work. He will be dead four years on July 7th.
Nowadays Robert continues to race 125cc machines around the short circuit. He was last seen winning the 125 race at the Athea Road Races in June. He said, "The weather is great here and it's a good circuit. I've been enjoying myself. "
The racing gene thrives and the biking blood that coursed through the veins of Robert and Joey still survives in Robert's sons William and Michael Dunlop ensuring that the Dunlop legacy lives on.