Michael Dunlop targets 'big bike' wins with PBM-prepared Kawasaki Superbike
Michael Dunlop is targeting victory in the ‘big bike’ races at the 2011 Isle of Man TT fuelled by Monster Energy.
Already a winner in the Supersport class at the TT, Dunlop has signed a deal which will see him run a Paul Bird Motorsport-prepared Kawasaki ZX-10R Superbike.
The superbike will be built to the same specification as Stuart Easton’s British Superbike Championship MSS Colchester Kawasaki, which is very similar to the Superbike World Championship-spec machines of Tom Sykes, Joan Lascorz and Chris Vermeulen.
It will feature factory-spec K-Tech suspension, Brembo brakes, the specially-developed PDM swingarm and a WSB-spec engine.
While the 22-year-old will receive technical support from PBM at the TT, he will compete under his own Michael Dunlop Racing banner. Long-time backer Street Sweep will be the main sponsor of the team, which will give Dunlop a full complement of machinery for the 2011 TT.
In addition to the PBM-prepared superbike, Dunlop will race a new superstock-spec ZX-10R – prepared by MSS – and a Yamaha R6 similar to the one he raced in 2010.
The deal brings to an end months of speculation about where Ballymoney-based Dunlop would race in 2011. It is known several top teams were keen to secure his services, but he believes the agreement he now has in place in the right one for now.
“I’m grateful to Paul for giving me this opportunity – it’s great to be riding for this team and have my own people on board again as well”
“There’s no reason why I can’t win big bike races on this bike and make a name for myself by following in the footsteps of my dad Robert and uncle Joey.”
Speaking to Motorcycle News about the deal, Dunlop added:
“I have a great bunch of lads with me who have given me huge support in the last few years. I wanted their names on any bikes I was riding.”
“I like Michael Dunlop Racing the way it is. I can put the bikes in the van and go where I want, when I want and if I break anything I know that I can fix it myself.”
“I can go down the big team/corporate way in a year or two, but for now there’s still time to run wild.”
Dunlop took his first TT victory in the Supersport class in 2009 and claimed two second places and a third on his way to second place in the overall TT Championship to Ian Hutchinson in 2010.
Last year also saw him set a new Supersport lap record of 17mins 12.3 secs – an average speed of 127.836mph.
TT Motorsport Manager Paul Phillips said:
“Michael has already had a great TT career and has proved himself very competitive across all classes.”
“This team could take him a step closer to winning one of the Superbike races and is well deserved based on his road racing career to date.”