Joey Dunlop
William Joseph " Joey " Dunlop OBE ( born February 25, 1952 in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, † July 2, 2000 in Tallinn, Estonia ) was a British motorcycle racer.
Dunlop is one of the most successful road racers of the story and was already a living legend, and as King of the Roads known. Among other things he could in his career, 26 times winning the Isle of Man TT, the toughest motorcycle race in the world.
His younger brother Robert and his nephew William and Michael were or are also motorcycle racer.
- 2.1 Title
- 2.2 Isle of Man TT
- 2.3 Ulster Grand Prix
- 2.4 North West 200
- 4.1 External links
- 4.2 Notes and references
Career
The entry
His first race played Joey Dunlop in 1969, In 1976 he participated for the first time at the Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man part. Without knowledge of the demanding, over 60 km long Snaefell Mountain Course he reached the goal in all races and - for a beginner - a respectable 16th place. The very next year he won the Jubilee Classic and 1980 for the first time the 1000 cc class on Yamaha.
The Honda era
In 1983 Dunlop graduated with Honda a long-term contract from ( " Bikes for Life " ), and was 1983-1988 five times TT F1 World Champion. On the Isle of Man he achieved in 1985, 1988 and 2000, three wins in the same year. He was one of the few who could change within minutes comfortably by a 1000 cc engine on a 125 cc motorcycle and won in his career over 200 victories.
Its probably the biggest victory reached the Northern Irishman in 2000, the 32nd year of his racing career, winning 48 -year-old, the TT -F1, the then premier class at the Isle of Man TT, on a for him entirely new, difficult to control Honda VTR 1000 SP1.
For his athletic achievements he was awarded the OBE in 1986.
Fatal accident
Joey Dunlop was killed on July 2, 2000, a supported by him international race at the Pirita - Kose - Kloostrimetsa in Tallinn, which was one of no championship. When it starts to rain he crashed his 125cc machine and hit a tree. He left by his wife Linda five children.
He was buried in the graveyard of Garryduff Presbyterian Church in Ballymoney. Next to him, his brother Robert Dunlop is buried, who died in a training accident on 15 May 2008.
In 2002, a stretch on the Isle of Man were named after him and a monument.
Statistics
Title
Isle of Man TT
With a total of 26 victories at the Isle of Man Joey Dunlop is the record holder, followed by John McGuinness with 20 wins.
In 25 years, he remained only eight times without a victory on the island, with a total of 98 starts he won 80 prizes. He drove over 250 laps with an average speed of over 180 km / h and his fastest lap he went in 2000 with 199.34 km / h
Ulster Grand Prix
In the Ulster Grand Prix Joey Dunlop won a total of 24 times.
North West 200
In the North West 200 Joey Dunlop won 13 victories.
Personality
Less well known were Dunlop's charitable activities for orphans. Several times he collected in his area, old clothes, so invited his race transporter and went to Romania, Bosnia or Albania. For his charitable activities, he was awarded an OBE in 1996.
Joey Dunlop was an active member of the Federation of the Freemasons. In his honor, the Masonic Lodge Joey Dunlop Lodge of Mark Master Masons No 1881 was founded on June 9, 2007.
" I never really wanted to be a superstar. I just want to be myself. I hope that's how people remember me. "