Northern Ireland’s Michael Dunlop has been selected as part of the three-man Honda TT Legends team to contest the iconic Bol d’Or 24-hour Endurance World Championship race at Magny-Cours in France this weekend.

The 24-year-old was the fastest rider in the Honda Motors Europe-funded team during qualifying.

Isle of Man TT star John McGuinness will spearhead the challenge as the race gets under way on Saturday, with Simon Andrews next up followed by Dunlop, who is making his EWC race debut.

Michael Rutter, who suffered a broken leg during pre-season testing with the team at Mireval in France, will not participate in the race.

The Honda TT Legends team qualified in ninth place overall, although Ballymoney man Dunlop’s lap time did not count towards the final starting position as he travelled with the team as a reserve rider.


Dunlop, who was initially signed by team boss Neil Tuxworth for the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT Superbike races, said: “I don’t do a lot of short circuit racing so it’s nice to have been the quickest rider today.

“I actually feel like I could have gone a bit quicker and I think that will come with a bit more time on the bike, but I’m obviously pleased to have been chosen to race and I’m looking forward to it.”

Tuxworth added: “We’re in a reasonably strong position for the race and the decision has been made to run McGuinness, Andrews and Dunlop in that order.

“Michael Rutter has obviously got some injuries he’s recovering from and he’s the one most likely to suffer during the race having not done a 24-hour before, so we think this is the best scenario.”

Dunlop was drafted into the EWC line-up after Cameron Donald stepped down from the team.



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