Isle of Man TT legend Michael Dunlop unveiled his new Ducati Panigale V4 R race bike for this 12 months’s highway racing marketing campaign through the BSB check at Oulton Park this week.
A 12 months in the past, Dunlop made his public debut on the Oulton Park BSB check aboard a BMW M1000 RR, and this 12 months he made his debut aboard a brand new bike, the Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Dunlop introduced final Saturday (April 18) that he’ll swap to a Panigale for the 2026 highway race marketing campaign, after only a 12 months behind the wheel of a BMW.
Dunlop received the Northwest 200 race final 12 months driving an M1000 RR, however final 12 months he did not win the one Superbike race or the Superstock race with BMW.
Michael Dunlop, 2026 Oulton Park BSB Take a look at. Credit score: Ian Hopgood Pictures.
© Ian Hopgood Pictures
On the identical time, he moved to Ducati within the supersport class after a few years of profitable with the Yamaha R6. Final 12 months’s Supersport TT noticed Dunlop declare Ducati’s first victory on the planet’s most well-known highway race since 1995.
The journey to Oulton Park comes simply days after Dunlop took supply of his V4 R and is step one in his preparation for this 12 months’s highway race. After 5 of the six classes, Dunlop’s finest lap time was 1 minute 38.808 seconds.
Dunlop, who received the 2025 Northwest 200 for the primary time in 9 years, will defend the primary race, the Northwest 200, on Saturday, Might ninth. He additionally received the Supersport and Superstock races on the primary day of racing final 12 months.
The Isle of Man TT will start on Might twenty fifth and the Senior TT will conclude its two-week run on June sixth. Dunlop’s two wins in Supersport final 12 months included two wins within the Tremendous Twin class (renamed Sports activities Bike from 2026), and this 12 months he’ll compete within the Tremendous Twin class with 33 TT wins.
