24 Hours of Le Mans: Great performance by Michael Dunlop / World Endurance Championship

“We are honored to have an absolute Touring Cup legend in our team,” TRT27 team boss Eric Tanésie said earlier about Michael Dunlop’s commitment to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “He has already driven the Honda TT Legends team in the World Endurance Championship and has high expectations of success.”

The Northern Irishman and his British team-mates Ben Luxton, Tom Ward and Tom Oliver rode the Honda Fireblade for the French team in the famous motorcycle race. In qualifying, the fourth placed 18th on the grid for a tough race on the 4.185km Circuit Bugatti.

The cycles were completed until midnight, then, like many others, they were affected by low temperatures. Two crashes set the team back, but with great dedication Dunlop, Luxton, Ward and Oliver climbed back up the time table. In the end they finished 16th overall and 7th in the Superstock class.

It is not yet clear whether we will see Dunlop again in the World Endurance Championship this year. He would be particularly interested in the 8-hour race at Suzuka, as he confirmed to his colleagues from the magazine: “There’s something about Suzuka; especially for Japanese manufacturers, it seems to be the top of the game. It really is the goal of driving at Suzuka.