2023-08-28 17:27:47
The centenary of the Manx Grand Prix will be remembered by many things, starting with the most important: the first victory of a Spanish pilot in the Isle of Man. The achievement has a name and surname, Víctor López, author of a formidable victory in the Manx GP 2023 Junior race obtained last Saturday on the back of his Paton S1R, a milestone that will go down in the annals of Spanish motorcycling history.
In addition, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the oldest road race in the world, its organizers have wanted to pay tribute to the hundreds of pilots who have ever raced on the Mountain Course by organizing a ‘Parade Lap’ -exhibition lap- loaded with class and category, with names such as Michael Evans riding a Norton 500, Nick Jefferies with a Velocette 350, a Cameron Donald with the legendary Cagiva 500 or Michael Rutterwhich delighted all fans with the unmistakable sound of the rotary-powered JPS Norton.
Among those present at this Parade Lap held on Sunday afternoon was Michael Dunlopwho this year also competes in the Manx GP in the Lightweight categories -with the misfortune of breaking the engine of his Yamaha TZ250 in Saturday’s race- and Classic Superbike, a date he will face this afternoon on the handlebars of a Suzuki GSXR750 SRAD.
Dunlop was last out on the Mountain Course during Sunday’s Parade Lap, and he did it on one of the completely standard Honda CBR 1000 RR-R used by the Manx GP marshalls to move around the circuit.
Michael Dunlop with a cheeky little 117mph “parade” lap yesterday #mgp #manxgrandprix #mgp2023 #mgp100year #mgp100thyear @M_Dunlop3 pic.twitter.com/SP4YcSFwsT
— iomTTpics (@iomttpics) August 27, 2023
The usual thing in an exhibition lap of this type is to see the pilots rolling at contained speed, greeting the public and letting himself be loved by the fans, but if your name is Michael Dunlop and you have won the TT 25 times -one less than his uncle Joey-, it is impossible to get rid of the desire to go to the maximum.
And that is precisely what Michael did in what, at first, was going to be a quiet ride; on a stock Honda and wearing Metzeler Sportect M9 RR street tires, the Northern Irishman completed a lap on fire starting from a standstill at almost 206 km/h -127.8 mph recorded by several spectators in the Grandstand-, a real bestiality if we take into account that his best lap during the last race of the Superbike TT -in which he scored the victory- it was 135.04 mph.
Read also: “Many things on the current Ducati started from Jorge Lorenzo’s ideas”, admits Gabarrini
Undoubtedly, the trace that Dunlop has been leaving on social networks of his Parade Lap, with dozens of images and videos captured by fans walking the Mountain Course, They show that this pilot has gasoline instead of blood in his veins, and that at a competitive level, nobody can match him in terms of ambition.
WOW???????? pic.twitter.com/l0AXK7o4lP
— Jim Hunter (@Jim_Hunter_MGP) August 27, 2023
Thank you @M_Dunlop3 for making me feel 100% , totally INADEQUATE – jumps on the spare Travelling Marshal bike for a Parade Lap, no set up whatsoever and laps at 127.8mph???????????????? pic.twitter.com/vVbXl7ZApV
— Jim Hunter (@Jim_Hunter_MGP) August 27, 2023
Michael Dunlop jumps on a traveling marshal spare bike to go out for a parade lap and throws in a 128mph lap!!! @M_Dunlop3 @ccxmotorsport @WhyArai @ManxGrandPrix @ttracesofficial @Lockk999 @race_tt @MonsterEnergy pic.twitter.com/iNslbSS79F
— markspicsiom (@markspics1) August 27, 2023
#Michael #Dunlop #takes #stock #CBR #commissioner #lap #kmh #average