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It was a bit of shock when we learned that John McGuinness would not be riding for the Honda Pro Racing outfit at this year’s Isle of Man TT, instead getting a gig riding with Norton for the Superbike and Senior TT races.

Now, we get news that the 23-time Isle of Man TT race-winner has another trick up his sleeve, this time involving his Supersport TT plans.

We still can’t believe we are saying this, but John McGuinness will mount his 600cc campaign hopes with Michael Dunlop’s team, riding an MD Racing Honda CBR600RR in this year’s Supersport TT races.

We had to check today’s date to be certain, as McGuinness and Dunlop are fierce rivals, and both are chasing the outright record of TT race wins (26), set by Joey Dunlop. Seeing them race under the same colors will certainly be a sight for this year’s Isle of Man TT.

The big news out of the Isle of Man TT today is that Michael Dunlop is dumping the Milwaukee Yamaha team, and its 2015 Yamaha YZF-R1 race package, in favor for a BMW S1000RR in Stuart Hicken’s Buildbase BMW team.

The move comes after critical practice days were lost to bad weather on the Isle of Man, which in-turn caused Dunlop to feel that he could not tame the R1 in time for the 1,000cc bike races.

With a packed Wednesday schedule, riders had only moments after the TT Zero celebration to mount their Supersport machines for the second race of the Monster Energy Supersport TT, and with mist reported on the mountain, a quick send-off was also necessary in order to ensure a full race distance ensued.

The only man not in a rush though was John McGuinness, as the now 21-time TT race winner had announced in the morning that he and the Padgetts Hona team had decided it best not to race in the second Supersport race of the 2014 Isle of Man TT, as McPint has been suffering from a wrist injury, which was noticeably holding him back this TT fortnight.

In fine form all week though has been the Kiwi Bruce Anstey, and he and Michael Dunlop seemed set for another showdown on the Snaefell Mountain Course.

Maybe it is an attention-seeking headline, but the prospect of Michael Dunlop doing a 130 mph lap at the Isle of Man TT, on his Supersport-spec machine, is a titalating prospect. A 130 mph lap is a tall order, even in the Superbike and Superstock classes, where only a handful of riders have broken the 130 mph barrier.

Setting the Supersport TT record last year, Michael Dunlop is currently the fastest man around the Isle of Man TT course on a 600cc machine, with an average lap speed of 128.666 mph under his belt. To break 130 mph though, Dunlop will have to drop an additional 11 seconds from his fastest lap time, a tall order despite the 37.733 mile of race course to work with.

Stop what you’re doing for the next 18 minutes — just stop right now. Take a ride with Michael Dunlop on his Honda CBR600RR during the Isle of Man TT’s second Supersport race.

We enter the race on lap three of four, Michael Dunlop has just finished his pit stop, and is in second place on corrected time — Bruce Anstey is leading. On the course, Michael is behind John McGuinness and Cameron Donald, who serve as his carrot.

At this point in the TT fortnight, Dunlop has already won three races and the nephew of Joey is looking for win number four as he puts the hammer down coming down Bray Hill. This is more than a video of an epic lap around Snaefell Mountain Course, it’s a lap of Michael Dunlop’s determination. There should be no doubt about Michael being a force to be reckond with in 2014.

After an announcement in late 2013 that Michael Dunlop would be forced to sit out the 2014 road racing season, rumors are flying that he has pitched a tent in the BMW paddock.

Although no official statement has been made yet, MCN and Bennetts are both reporting the seven-time TT winner will be signing a deal to ride an BMW S1000RR for BMW Motorrad in the Superbike TT classes, along with a BMW HP4 that he will be riding for his own team, Michael Dunlop Racing, in Superstock TT race.

After three increasingly impressive performances in the first three solo races at this year’s Isle Of Man TT, the Michael Dunlop we have been watching tackle the Mountain Course this week seems to be signalling a clear message of intent to the rest of the road racing field.

Following in the footsteps of his father Robert and his uncle Joey, who achieved a combined record of 31 wins and 54 podiums at the TT, and an astronomical amount of wins on road circuits across the world, Michael had already won three races on the island before this year’s event.

Despite this already impressive record on the Island, his frustration (and clear intent) was always apparent when it came to the Superbike class, as his two wins in Supersport and one in the Superstock class might have been perceived as “easier” wins by more cynical men than myself.