Robert Dunlop banished all his demons yesterday and once again tasted the champagne of TT victory in the Ultra-lightweight race. It was a race that no one deserved to win more, and was the ultimate reward for a man whose courage, strength and determination must seem almost superhuman.
Dunlop was seriously injured in a TT race in 1994, when the rear wheel of his bike collapsed. Since then, he has suffered disaster after disaster, culminating in another horrific accident at the North West 200 in Coleraine last month which left him with a broken leg and collarbone. He won yesterday's three-lap race on a 125 cc Honda modified to cope with his injuries. He was barely able to hobble to his bike, yet led the race from start to finish. With a threat of rain towards the end of the race, Dunlop decided to take a gamble and race on full slicks. An excellent refuelling time at the end of the second lap, and the retirement of secondplaced Gavin Lee, ensured he didn't have to take any risks on the last lap.
"I didn't take any pain-killers before the race because they affected my concentration in practice," said the Antrim rider, whose older brother, Joey, finished ninth.
"The injuries didn't cause me too much bother because I had physiotherapy just before I went out."
When asked how he rated this win with past ones, he said: "This is my best win. When I was lying on the road at the North West, I didn't think I'd make it here."
Ian Lougher, from Glamorgan, used cunning tactics to ensure a second place finish. He used a larger fuel tank so he didn't need to stop during the race to refuel. Owen McNally, from Coleraine, came third. Robert's win is a double victory for the Dunlop family. Joey won the 250 race on Monday despite injuries of his own. Honda are also celebrating their domination: they have won all but one of the races so far at the TT this year. Michael Rutter celebrated his first TT victory when he completed a three-lap Junior 600 cc race. He beat team-mate Ian Simpson in an exciting battle, giving Honda their 99th TT win. Despite a poor pit stop and slippery conditions, Rutter worked his way up from fourth on the first lap.
Recent battles between Rutter and Simpson have injected a new excitement into racing. Rutter, whose father had eight TT wins, was riding the Honda Britain bike which the injured Philip McCallan would have raced. There are doubts if McCallan will compete in road races again, since he fractured two vertebrae in a crash last month. The pressure of a bumpy road surface could injure his spinal cord.
The Production race and the Senior are due to be run tomorrow. Rain has affected racing all week, but conditions are expected to improve.
