DUNLOP SET FOR RENEWED SUZUKI CHALLENGE

Team Classic Suzuki and Michael Dunlop will once again be aiming for victory in this year’s RST Classic Superbike Manx Grand Prix, coming to the Isle of Man with their Suzuki GSX-R750 SRAD.

The combination of Steve Wheatman’s team and Dunlop have been together since the inaugural Classic TT of 2013, and it’s proven to be a highly successful partnership with a victory in that inaugural year plus further wins in 2015 and 2016.

To date, all of this success has been achieved on the 1100cc Suzuki XR69, made famous in the early 1980s by the likes of Graeme Crosby, Mick Grant, Roger Marshall and Rob McElnea, but following a change in the cut-off date for the Classic Superbike class last year, Team Classic Suzuki are determined to make their mark with the SRAD – which stands for Suzuki Ram Air Direct – model.

Built around a former factory endurance racer, the 1996 SRAD features a factory dry slipper-clutch, lightweight generator, magnesium offset sump, close ratio six-speed gearbox, and a factory Yoshimura exhaust system. The bike runs OZ wheels, Brembo brakes, and K-Tech suspension, while the triple clamps, footrests and fork lowers are made in-house.

The bike made its debut at the Manx Grand Prix last year, but mechanical gremlins and a lack of time to fine-tune the bike’s handling ultimately saw Dunlop revert to the XR69 for the race, although he was forced to retire early.

However, continuous development has taken place since then both at home and abroad with trips to Spain and South Africa. The latter was particularly successful with Dunlop winning the South African Classic TT after taking victory in both F1 races at Welkom, the circuit which previously hosted the MotoGP World Championship from 1999 to 2004.

That puts them in much better stead as they set to challenge for victory in the 4-lap race taking place on August Bank Holiday Monday.