Michael Dunlop makes Ducati 916 switch for Manx GP

The Manx Grand Prix has announced that Michael Dunlop will switch from his familiar Suzuki machinery to a Ducati for this year’s Classic Superbike race.

Dunlop has raced Team Classic Suzuki machinery since 2013 when the Classic Superbike was first run under its ‘Classic TT’ guise. He rode an 1,100cc XR69 to victory in the inaugural edition of the race in 2013, and continued with that bike until 2022, before switching to the GSX-R750 SRAD in 2023, a switch which brought his fifth victory.

Another switch will come this year, though, as the allure of Borgo Panigale brings Dunlop onto the Ducati 916, a cult icon and the machine from which the later 996 and then 998 would be derived.

The 916 also has a strong history on the Isle of Man, with Iain Duffus and Michael Rutter both taking TT podiums with it in the 1995 Senior TT and 1996 Formula One TT, respectively.

Last year, the bike was ridden by 2019 Senior TT winner Dean Harrison, who took the bike to its fastest ever lap of the TT Mountain Course at an average speed of 125.597mph.

This is not the first time Dunlop has planned to race a Ducati on the Isle of Man, of course, having initially planned to race for the PBM team with their Panigale V4 R at the Isle of Man TT back in 2022, before switching back to the more familiar — to him — Hawk Racing Honda.

Dunlop will also compete at this year’s Manx Grand Prix in the Lightweight class on a 250cc Honda.