Isle of Man TT legend Michael Dunlop has been getting acquainted with his new Ducati Panigale V4 R race bike for this year’s road racing campaign during this week’s BSB test at Oulton Park.
A year ago, Dunlop made his public debut aboard the BMW M1000 RR at the Oulton Park BSB test, and this year he’s breaking cover aboard a new bike: the Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Dunlop announced last Saturday (18 April) that he would be switching to the Panigale for the 2026 road racing campaign having been on the BMW for only one year.
Dunlop won races at the North West 200 last year aboard the M1000 RR, but did not win in either the sole Superbike race or either Superstock race with the BMW last year.
Michael Dunlop, 2026 Oulton Park BSB Test. Credit: Ian Hopgood Photography.
© Ian Hopgood Photography
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At the same time he’d switched to Ducati in the Supersport class after years of winning with the Yamaha R6. Last year’s Supersport TTs saw Dunlop take Ducati’s first victories at the world’s most famous road race since 1995.
The Oulton Park outing comes only a few days after Dunlop took delivery of the V4 R and is the first step of his road racing preparation for this year. After five of six sessions, Dunlop’s best lap time is a 1m38.808s.
After taking his first North West 200 wins in nine years at the 2025 event, Dunlop will be defending the headline North West 200 race on Saturday 9 May. He also won the Supersport and Superstock races on the first race day last year.
The Isle of Man TT begins on 25 May, with the Senior TT due to conclude the fortnight on 6 June. Dunlop’s two Supersport wins last year were accompanied by a pair of wins in the Supertwin class (now renamed Sportbike for 2026), meaning he goes there this year with 33 TT wins under his belt.