“Severe accidents did not bury the Dunlop family’s passion for motorsports.”

Although the Dunlop dynasty has been accompanied by various tragedies throughout the ages, these have not yet stopped the family’s thirst for speed and competitive spirit. Road racer Joey Dunlop experienced the death of his brother-in-law, who participated in the same race in his first year of racing. His brother Robert experienced the death of his brother Joey, and Robert’s sons experienced the death of their father and uncle. However, Robert’s sons, Michael and William, still compete on the track today.

Published in Estonian Sport magazine, July 2015.

Multiple world champion road racer William Joseph Dunlop, known as Joey Dunlop (February 25, 1952 – July 2, 2000), was a passionate motorcyclist from Northern Ireland. Now, in early July, it marks 15 years since his fatal accident at the Tallinn Pirita-Kose-Kloostrimetsa circuit during the Kalevi Grand Prix, which ended his victorious life. The accident happened on a wet and slippery road in the final turn, where Joey hit a tree, resulting in his immediate death. He was leading the 125 cm³ class race at the time, having already won the 750 cm³ and 600 cm³ races earlier. A year later, a memorial stone was unveiled in his honor before the 40th Kalevi Grand Prix.

Motorcycles sank with the ship.

One indisputable fact about the future of young William Joseph from the small village of Ballymoney in Northern Ireland was that, as an adult, he would have been involved with engines in one way or another. His father, Willie, was a mechanic by trade and naturally a tinkerer and fixer of things. At a time when electricity was not yet commonplace in households, Joey’s father built a wind generator in a tree next to their house. When the traditional North Antrim wind blew, the Dunlop home shone with electric light. Young Joey’s nightly job was to check the battery levels and start the generator if necessary.

Joey’s first motorcycle race was in 1969 in Maghaberry on a Triumph Tiger Cub motorcycle, which he bought for £50 borrowed from a friend. With its 200 cc engine, producing perhaps only 10 horsepower, Joey finished in 16th place, but it was enough to get a taste of road racing and dedicate the rest of his life to it.

With proper racing equipment and a bike, Joey began competing at the age of 19. In this regard, his brother-in-law, Mervyn Robinson, who was also involved in the sport, provided significant support and motivation. Joey almost gave up racing after his first victory at the North West 200, where his brother-in-law died on the track. He seriously considered quitting and canceled all races except for the Formula TT series. After winning that series, he decided to continue. Joey became a world champion in the Formula TT series five times in a row from 1982 to 1986. He is the only person ever to have won the Formula TT world championship five times. Joey won the Isle of Man TT races, held on the Isle of Man between England and Ireland, a record 26 times across all classes. In 1985, 1988, and 2000, he won the series in three different engine classes.

At the Isle of Man races, Joey used to travel with friends on a converted small fishing boat, M.F.V. Tornamona. On the last Sunday of May 1985, while traveling the traditional sea route with his brother Robert, friend Brian Reid, a couple of passengers, and the crew, a fortunate accident occurred. After a stormy night and in the early morning hours just before the harbor, a large wave threw their boat against rocky reefs, breaking the starboard side. The boat sank quickly, but with Joey’s help, the entire 13-member crew escaped to the lifeboat. The racing equipment and five racing motorcycles on board sank to the bottom. Divers later found the sunken ship; the motorcycles were recovered and restored. The cold-blooded Joey did not let this accident ruin his race day – one of his Honda racing bikes had arrived on another ship. While such an incident might have rattled many other racers, Joey shrugged off the inconveniences and delivered another thrilling and successful race.

Joey brought food to Romanian orphans.

Joey had many successful races in his life. He won the Ulster Grand Prix, held in his hometown, 24 times. The North West 200 race, 13 times. For his sporting achievements, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1986. Even after his death, he has been honored with various titles. In 2005, the publication “Motorcycle News” ranked Dunlop as the fifth greatest motorcyclist of all time. At the end of last year, Joey was voted the third-best athlete in Irish history by the Irish public. This January, readers of the Belfast Telegraph voted Joey the best athlete in Northern Ireland overall.

In 1996, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for organizing charity work. This is perhaps a lesser-known fact about Joey’s life: how he always delivered truckloads of humanitarian aid and food to orphans and their caregivers in Romania and Bosnia before the racing season started. He never allowed any cameras or journalists to accompany him on these missions. Joey himself has said that he felt even more pride in the honor given by the British government for his charity work than any trophy won from a race.