Robert Dunlop
| Robert Dunlop | |||||||||||||||
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Dunlop with the 1990 Norton Rotary
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| Nationality | Northern Irish | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 25 November 1960 | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 15 May 2008 (aged 47) | ||||||||||||||
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Stephen Robert Dunlop (25 November 1960 – 15 May 2008) was a Northern Irish motorcycle racer, the younger brother of fellow road racer, the late Joey Dunlop, and like Joey he died after a crash while racing.
After an apprenticeship on short circuits, the teenage Dunlop made his road race debut at the 1979 Temple 100. His first appearance at the Cookstown 100 came in 1980, riding a 347cc Yamaha. His first professional race, where he was fully sponsored was at Aghadowey in 1981.
Dunlop then began a record breaking run at the Cookstown 100, where his first win came in the 1985 250cc race. Riding an ECM, he averaged 88.57 mph to take the chequered flag ahead of Gary Cowan (EMC) and Noel Hudson (Rotax). His most successful year was 1987 when he scooped the prestigious “Man of the Meeting”, winning 125cc, 350cc and 1000cc races. Four more 125cc victories followed in 1988, 1989, 1991 and 1993; a total of eight victories in the event.
He won the Macau Grand Prix in 1989 on a Honda 500, beating Phillip McCallen and Steve Hislop, both on Honda 750's.
In 1990 he joined the JPS Norton racing team on the RCW588, which was powered by a Wankel engine. On short circuits Dunlop notched one of the three MCN Supercup wins, the other two by Terry Rymer. Dunlop notched a double in Ireland's North West 200 and finished third in the F1 Isle of Man TT.
In 1994, Dunlop suffered a major accident on the Isle of Man Formula One TT, when the back wheel of his 750cc Honda RC45 collapsed in a long left turn, just after he took the jump over Ballaugh Bridge. Dunlop suffered multiple injuries and was extremely lucky to have survived the high-speed crash. A long stay in hospital, followed by protracted recuperation, meant Dunlop was out of action for the remainder of 1994 and all of 1995.
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