In a last-minute shocker, roadracer Michael Dunlop has left his contract with the Milwaukee Yamaha racing team to return to BMW machinery for this year’s Isle of Man TT.
Dunlop won three races aboard BMWs last year, but switched to Yamaha in the off-season. It sounds as if he wasn’t getting the results he wanted in this year’s practice sessions, though, as he announced he’s going to ride BMWs this year, breaking his contract to ride Yamaha.
“I would like to thank Milwaukee Yamaha for their support in bringing me into their team and I am genuinely sorry to be making this decision,” said Dunlop. “Unfortunately I don’t think there is enough time left with the sessions we’ve already lost at the TT to be truly competitive and get the bike to the level we need to in order to win races here.”
He’ll be riding for Buildbase BMW in the RST Superbike Race this Saturday and in the PokerStars Senior TT on Sunday, June 12. He’ll ride his own MD Racing BMW in the Superstock race Monday, and will ride the Supersport races on his MD Racing Honda.
Dunlop has won 11 TT races in his career. He’s going to need to get all the track time possible aboard the BMW before the races start if he hopes to make it to 12 wins this year.
