‘Awesome news for road racing’
I think the news that Michael Dunlop is going to ride the PBM Ducati is awesome for road racing, it’s awesome for the TT – and it’s great to have Birdy involved again. With me on the Honda, Dean on the Kawasaki, Hicky on the BMW and now Michael on the Ducati – well, we’ve got everything covered there, haven’t we?
I rode the Panigale V4 at Macau in 2019 and I thought it was terrific. It’s a brilliant bike and I consistently went faster on it than any other bike I’ve ridden there before. Yes we had a little issue on the warm-up lap for the race, but I really enjoyed riding it.
I didn’t know what to expect when I rode it at Macau, but I can remember thinking that it would make a good TT bike. And at the time Birdy was making some noises about us doing something together. I was excited. Look, parts of Macau are bumpy and parts are fast and I can only relate it to bikes I’ve ridden around there before – but I was faster. It’s obviously got plenty of power and it’s stable on the brakes. It’s a complicated bike, but I’m sure it won’t want for anything.
I’ve seen a lot of changes in Michael, he’s training hard, he looks the part. It’s obviously going to be a different way of life now with all the losses, but he can channel that, pick himself up and move on. I’ve worked with Michael before and he’s a calculating kid, you don’t win 19 TTs if you’re not.
He’s been around the job for a long time, but he’s still young and fit and you’re not going to get a better BSB team running it than PBM. It’s also good if Ducati themselves are on side with it. As a rider, that kind of thing just makes you happier.
And Birdy is Birdy, yes we can all have a tantrum, but the main thing Paul Bird is guilty of is spending money on bike racing. He puts a lot of effort and time into it and he turns out an amazing team and I’m sure Michael will appreciate that.
Good luck to them, I think it’s great for the event.
‘I’ve seen a lot of changes in Michael’