Michael Dunlop wins prestigious prize for third time at Irish Motorcycle Awards

The Isle of Man TT’s most successful rider, Michael Dunlop, has been named Irish Motorcyclist of the Year for the third time.

Dunlop picked up the award – whose trophy is named after his uncle, Joey Dunlop, whose record for TT victories he surpassed in 2024 – for the third time on Sunday night (18 January) in Belfast.

Other awardees at the event included Jonathan Rea, following his retirement from WorldSBK, who picked up a Special Recognition Award; Rhys Irwin, who won the Short Circuit Rider of the Year for UK circuits after his British Supersport Championship triumph; and Casey O’Gorman won Young Rider of the Year after making his Moto3 World Championship debut and securing a full-time spot on the 2026 grid.

Dunlop’s award win comes after a season in which the Ballymoney rider extended his victory tally to 33 wins at the Isle of Man TT, and ended a nine-year wait for a victory at the North West 200, where he ultimately won three races across the Superstock, Superbike (both aboard a BMW), and Supersport (on a Ducati Panigale V2) classes in 2025. Dunlop was also victorious at the Cookstown and Tandragee road races last year.

The 2026 season will see Dunlop once again face off against the likes of Peter Hickman and Dean Harrison at the Isle of Man TT, as well as Davey Todd who has asserted himself firmly into the group of victory contenders at the world’s most famous motorcycle road race.

At the North West 200, meanwhile, Dunlop – along with the other Superbike-class competitors at Northern Ireland’s biggest road race – will have to deal once again with Glenn Irwin, who announced last week that he will be returning to the famous Triangle circuit in 2026 with the Nitrous Competitions Ducati team after having announced his retirement from road racing following the 2024 edition of the North West.