Over the past three decades, no family has dominated any form of motorsport like the Dunlop family has dominated motorcycle road racing.

Between the two sets of brothers, they have won 50 TT races, widely regarded as the most dangerous motorsport event in the world. Although their success is unrivalled, it has come at great cost. Of the 4 riders, three have lost their lives to the sport they love so much. For most of us, this is unfathomable, why would they continue racing, why would Michael, the only surviving Dunlop, continue? The answer to that is not simple, it has become part of their lives and stopping just made no sense to any of them.

10 North West 200

dunlop judsds
via: Belfast Telegraph

For the Dunlop family, this is where it all started. The local event in Northern Ireland is a big reason why the Northern Irish love this sport so much, and have produced so many incredible riders.

60._Joey_Dunlop_750cc_Honda_1990
via: Belfast Telegraph

Joey, the older brother, got the ball rolling here in 1979 when he won his first race. By 1988, he accumulated 13 wins at the event, only to be eclipsed by his brother, Robert, in 1994 when he won his 14th race, sadly that would be his last win for quite some time. He crashed heavily and severely damaged his right arm and leg the same year, and was told by doctors that his racing days were over.

9 Grit And Determination

Robert-Dunlop-Ducati-1993
North West 200

Robert’s crash in 1994 may have ended his truly competitive racing days pre-maturely, but it didn’t keep him away from racing altogether. He would modify his bikes so that he could ride, even though he couldn’t fully close his right hand (let that sink in for a minute).

Robert-Dunlop-125cc-2006
North West 200

He would also stick to the smaller 125 and 250cc classes, not having enough strength to keep the bigger bikes moving through the corners.

Related: Brad Binder And KTM Win A Wet And Wild MotoGP Round In Austria

8 Isle Of Man

joey-dunlop-1983-isle-of-man-tt-honda-rc850r-v4
via: Asphalt & Rubber

Robert came and went all too quickly, having his prime racing days snatched away thanks to his injuries, but still managed to accumulate 5 wins at the event. All the while, his older brother was just racking up one win after another.

JoeyDunlopTT92
via Wikipedia

Joey was just in a league of his own, eventually winning 26 races in all. A disproportionate amount of wins later on in his career, and was still winning races in what was to be his final event in the year 2000.

7 Road Racing In their Blood

Michael Dunlop
Cycle World

If both your dad and uncle were obsessed with something, it is fairly likely you would find an interest in whatever that may be. This was clearly the case for Robert's two sons, William and Michael.

dunlopflying
via: Bennetts

What doesn’t always follow, is ability. However, neither William nor Micheal were short on talent, Michael would get more headlines with his wins, but William still had bags of talent and was a strong contender every time he got on his bike.

Related: Motorcycle Man: America's Legendary Racer

6 Tragedy

JS4249555@The Joey Dunlop m_2
via: Belfast Telegraph

By the year 2000 Joey was in the twilight of his career, but he was still winning races, and it goes without saying he still loved racing. In the same year he won his last event at the TT he lost his life in a different, lesser-known event in Estonia, riding in the wet he lost control of his 125cc bike and collided with a tree.

Dunlop-1
via: Belfast Telegraph

After finally winning his 15th race at the North West 200 in 2006, Robert had regained his confidence. Sadly in 2008 he would lose his life in a freak accident, after his bike’s engine seized, he accidentally hit the front brake which threw him off his bike and into the path of another rider. In 2018, his son William would suffer a similar fate.

5 More Than Just Racing

michael_dunlop_wins_250cc_race07
BBC

Out of all of Michael's wins, his victory on the North West 200 in 2008, just one day after his father’s passing, will be the one most will remember.

Dunlop
News Letter

We all deal with grief differently, but to remember somebody who was always willing to lose it all for doing what he loved, this is the way Michael and his brother handled it.

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4 Joey

Isle of Man
VFRDiscussion.com

His success will certainly outlive any memory of his tragic passing, he was fortunate to live a full, albeit short life, doing what he loved.

IN6952161@Joey Dunlop funer
via: Belfast Telegraph

With 26 Isle of Man TT wins to his name, he is still the undisputed king of the event, and few hesitate when asked who the greatest road racer is.

3 Robert

Joey-Robert-Dunlop-1991
North West 200

Although he spent most of his racing career in the shadow of his brother, he too was a proven race winner. After his brother died, he would never be the same. Although he was not willing to let go of racing, he always rode with an impending sense of doom, almost resigned to his fate.

Robert Dunlop
Belfast News Letter

Even his brother Joey admitted Robert was a luckless rider who rarely made mistakes, but mechanical failure or circumstances out of his control would lead to him crashing and more often than not hitting something particularly hard.

Related: Valentino Rossi Announces He Will Retire From MotoGP At End Of 2021 Season

2 William

WILLIAM-DUNLOP-R6-YAMAHA-2017
North West 200

For pretty much all his career he would fly under the radar, competitive but not quite as quick as his brother Michael.

William-Dunlop-Dead-at-32-Skerries-100
Ultimate Motorcycling

In 2018, he pulled out of the Isle of Man event, so he could spend more time with his family, later that year he would race in the local Skerries 100. Much like his dad, it was a freak accident with a mechanical failure leading to oil spraying onto the rear wheel, throwing him off his bike and to his death.

1 Michael

PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 20/2/2017: Michael Dunlop with the Bennetts Suzuki GSXR superbike at Mallory Park that he will race on the roads in 2017. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON
Motorcycles.News

His tally of Isle of Man wins currently stands at 19, and he is still only 32 so has every chance of besting his Uncle.

Michael-Dunlop-Isle-of-Man-TT-Senior-2
BikesRepublic

For him, though, it is about much more than just racing, it is about a family legacy that has become something of a dynasty.