Michael Dunlop hints at Isle of Man TT pace after “sandbagging” theory
Question marks about Michael Dunlop "sandbagging" at Isle of Man TT answered on Sunday
Michael Dunlop responded to suggestions about “sandbagging” by showing his speed on Sunday at the Isle of Man TT.
Dunlop topped the fifth Superbike qualifying session, the last before racing is set to begin on Monday.
Prior to Sunday afternoon he had trailed Dean Harrison on the big bikes which led some onlookers to question whether he had more lap time in his pocket.
Ex-TT racer Cameron Donald said on Sunday: “Now with these last laps, it’s not a time for riders and teams to be reinventing the wheel.
“It’s a time for small and calculated changes. It’s time to say ‘that is what I will race with’.”
Tom Birchall said before Sunday's running began: “We are seeing guys get into the groove, with the performance of Davey Todd in the past few days.
“Something has clicked. They have got a direction.
“We are seeing Dunlop just finding his feet now. Hopefully the sandbagging rumours aren’t true, and he has actually found a direction to move forwards in.”
Donald said about Dunlop: “He’s probably playing the game a bit.
“We know how good the bike is, and how fast Michael has been at the North West 200. Surely he’s holding a bit back?
“He does like to play the ‘us against them’ card. I am starting to feel like he might be doing that again, because you know the ability he has.”
Birchall said: “He is the Superbike lap record holder. If you study his sectors, he went quicker than Davey in the last one. It’s clear to see on paper.
“They are finding a direction or they are throwing sandbags off!”
Michael Dunlop fastest on Sunday at Isle of Man TT
Dunlop then duly headed out to the Mountain Course on Sunday afternoon to produce his best lap of the week at 132.003mph.
Harrison managed 130.666mph on the Superbikes, and Todd 129.812mph.
Birchall reacted: “None of us can read Michael’s body language.
“That 1’32s lap is a big boost for those guys. He did it with a pitlane start and a short lap.”
However, Donald noted: “Other front runners only did one lap before jumping on another machine. Michael focused both laps on a Superbike which confirms there is work to do.
“He started to get his shoulders up and was firing it into the corners.
“How much is due to improvements on the bike and how much is because he’s got the bit between his teeth?”
Dunlop smashed his legendary uncle Joey’s record for TT race wins a year ago.
He returns this year trying to add to his tally of 29.
Harrison and Todd seem to be his closest competitors. Peter Hickman has been ruled out after a crash on Friday.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
