Michael Dunlop has witnessed the highs and lows of road racing first-hand.

Michael Dunlop admits he has witnessed the ‘unfortunate side’ of road racing, with the 19-time Isle of Man TT winner acknowledging ‘it only takes the slightest second for it to all go wrong’.

The Ballymoney man, who claimed his latest victory around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course with his second successive win in the Lightweight class in 2019, has been restricted to some short circuit outings this year after the Covid-19 crisis wiped out the North West 200 and TT.

Dunlop – the third most successful rider ever in TT history – had been due to compete in the Superbike class this year on a Ducati V4R Panigale for Paul Bird’s VisionTrack racing team.

However, he has been keeping himself bike fit by undertaking a few test days, while the 31-year-old also contested the opening round of the National Superstock 1000 Championship at Donington Park earlier this month for Stuart and Steve Hicken’s Buildbase Suzuki team.

Last year, Dunlop was hampered by a wrist injury sustained prior to the North West 200, which proved especially troublesome when it came to the gruelling challenge posed by the TT course.

More misfortune followed when he suffered a series of injuries in a heavy spill at the Southern 100, including a broken pelvis.

It was a rare crash for Dunlop, but he accepts the high-stakes involved in racing motorcycles at speeds of up to 200mph on public roads.

“Life can bite you, which I’ve had the unfortunate side of seeing,” he said.

“Your life is all based around your own decisions – the fear factor of it, the risk factor; I like the buzz behind it, about trying to find the limit without over-passing it really.”

Speaking in a short promotional video for his leather suppliers, Furygan, Dunlop also reflects on the eye-watering speeds achieved by today’s modern Superbikes.

“Once you’re in first gear you’re up to 95-100mph,” he continues.

“Then you go through second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth gears and you’re up to 200mph. It only takes the slightest second for it all to go wrong.

“For me it’s not that fast but for somebody else it’s stupidity. Everything slows down. I can see everything; I can pick it up because I have to. That’s the job.”

The 1m 30s video has been produced as part of a special series by Furygan and D30, which you can watch by clicking here.