Line-up of Racing Legends for Joey Dunlop Anniversary Confirmed
A special racing line-up to celebrate Joey Dunlop’s stunning career has been confirmed
Road racing legend and 26-time Isle of Man TT winner Joey Dunlop will be celebrated this summer with a special event held in Balleymoney, Northern Ireland on 24 May, before 2 July will mark 25 years since his death.
The special event will feature the largest-ever display of Dunlop’s motorcycles, while also showcasing his remarkable career. That same evening all of his iconic machines will come to life for a closed-road parade through Ballymoney town centre.
Confirmed riders include Jeremy McWilliams and Eugene Laverty, ex-British champion Adrian Coates, North West 200 record holder Alastair Seeley and North West 200 Superbike specialist Glenn Irwin.
Also taking part in the event will be Ryan Farquhar, who leads a heavy contingent of road racing talent alongside TT and North West 200 champions Michael Rutter, Adrian Archibald, and Ian Simpson.
Northern Ireland motorcycling star Phillip McCallen, who is an ex-Honda team-mate of Dunlop’s and formerly a fierce rival, will join the star-studded line-up that also includes World Superbike champions Carl Fogarty and Jonathan Rea, and double TT Formula 2 world champion Brian Reid.
Speaking about the chance to ride one of Dunlop’s bikes, McCallen said: “I’m standing here smiling because Joey was my good friend. Obviously he was my teammate and he was my rival at times, but he was never my enemy – it’s just there was very stiff opposition because Joey was the benchmark for road racing and the benchmark around the world.
“If you beat Joey Dunlop or raced against Joey Dunlop you were some boy, and I was very lucky to become a friend of Joey’s. I did beat him a few times but one thing you could say about Joey was that if there were five races in a day at the North West, Ulster, TT or wherever, Joey picked his race and he won it and you weren’t going to beat him in that race.
“He was just remarkable and for us to get the honour of riding one of his ex-racing machines – that just wouldn’t happen normally because the people who own those machines are so proud of them and look after them so much. To represent the riders and the community for Joey Dunlop is an honour.”
As part of the day of celebration it is expected that the Dunlop family will be represented in the parade by Joey’s daughter Donna McLean and Michael McCammond, husband of Joey’s youngest daughter, Joanne. There are also plans set in store to fly some riders in from the Isle of Man, where they will be preparing for the 2025 TT.
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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
