TT 2024: Michael Dunlop aiming to finish with flourish as Senior race tops bill on revamped final day

Dunlop has already claimed a double, winning the first Supersport and Supertwin races to become the most successful rider ever at the TT with 27 wins, one more than his legendary uncle Joey.

The Ballymoney man will be gunning for a repeat in the second Supersport and Supertwin races on his 600cc MD Racing Yamaha and Italian Paton machines.

After a week disrupted by the weather, the Supersport race (10:30 BST) has been slashed from four laps to two, with the Supertwin race (13:30 BST) reduced from three laps to two.

Record-breaking 27-time Isle of Man TT winner Michael Dunlop with 23-time winner John McGuinness

Dunlop is also a major contender in the blue riband Milwaukee Senior race after a sensational performance in the Superbike race last Sunday, when he smashed the lap record and held a 25-second lead until a visor issue robbed him of an almost certain victory with two laps to go.

The 35-year-old has put the unfortunate episode behind him and Dunlop will now be fired up to win the four-lap Senior finale (16:15 BST) for the first time since 2017, when he triumphed on the Bennetts Suzuki.

The Hawk Racing Honda rider set his fastest TT lap in the Superbike race at 135.970mph on the sixth and final lap to throw down the gauntlet ahead of the Senior, despite having to settle for fourth position after the much-documented setback with his visor.

After winning the opening Supertwin race on Wednesday for a record 27th TT success, Dunlop said he had moved on from his Superbike heartbreak.

Michael Dunlop set his fastest ever TT lap at 135.907mph on the Hawk Racing Honda in the Superbike race

“It would have been nice to be on 28 but it’s something out of our hands and our control which was a massive disappointment to us, but to come back and prove we were able to win another race, it doesn’t matter now what happens the rest of the week,” he said.

“We’re going home as the most successful TT rider of all time and that’s what it’s all about.

“Regardless of what happens the rest of the week when I get home from here the newspapers will be full of the 27 victories and hopefully more, so we’ll keep pushing on and try and keep breaking records.”

His chief rivals include the resurgent Davey Todd, riding high after beating Peter Hickman to win the Superstock race on Thursday for his maiden TT triumph.

The 28-year-old is also a big player in the Supersport race after finishing as the runner-up behind Dunlop last Saturday on the Powertoolmate Ducati.

Todd, though, would love nothing more than to win the showpiece Senior and after joining the exclusive 135mph club at TT 2024, he is now part of a ‘big four’ that includes Dunlop, Hickman and Dean Harrison.

Hickman will be equally determined to retain his Senior TT crown and is set to come out fighting on the FHO Racing BMW after a somewhat low key race week by the 37-year-old’s incredibly high standards, while Harrison cannot be discounted on the factory Honda.

Like Todd, the Bradford man also recorded his first 135mph TT lap in the Superbike race and Harrison commands the utmost respect.

A hat-trick on Saturday would put Dunlop on the magical mark of 30 TT wins.

It would be a sensational way to end a history-making week on the Isle of Man.