12 June: Dunlop dynasty goes on

Published: Friday, 12 June 2009, 10:16AM

After three days of racing the riders finally got a day off on Thursday. They've given us plenty to enjoy with some brilliant racing this week and the highlight for me was Michael Dunlop's first TT win.

It's 32 years since his late, and considerably great, uncle Joey won his first TT, and only a year since his father Robert died, so it was an emotional victory for the latest star of the Dunlop racing dynasty.

He led the Supersport Race 2 from early on, enjoying the damp conditions that Joey also relished in his racing days. The huge crowds here yesterday knew they were watching something very special unfold, and the reception he got as he crossed the line was really moving - the significance of a having a Dunlop back on the podium at the TT was lost on no-one.

Mind you, he nearly ran over Hammy, our steadycam man. It's his job to follow the winning bikes as they enter the winners' enclosure, and in his excitement Michael nearly took our man with him on his handlebars.

The scenes as he got off the bike were amazing - this is a family man and Michael's victory meant so much to them. There were cheers and tears, and even the tough Mr Dunlop cracked with emotion: wonderful.

Sadly, just hours later, Nick Crowe and Mark Cox crashed very dramatically in the second sidecar race. As the course is over 37 miles long, when there is an incident like that, information doesn't get back to the paddock for quite a while.

It's amazing how the atmosphere changes, the road racing community is very tight-knit, and they all have genuine concern for each other.

We saw some of what happened on our helicopter cams; They entered a long tunnel of trees at Ballacob at about 150mph, whensuddenly there was a huge explosion and a fire ball launched high above the tree line, and then silence.

It was an awful thing to see, the wait for news on their injuries as bad. Thankfully, although seriously bashed up, they are in a stable condition in hospital.

It's was a quiet enough day on Thursday, and I spent the afternoon chatting to Murray Walker about his TT memories. His father raced here, and he is a bike fan before anything else, and he also commentated here for many years.

It was an honor to listen to such a great man tell stories in such an iconic location. Meanwhile the camera crew sat around in the sunshine in our paddock and drank tea in preparation for the prestigious Senior TT today.

Out on the circuit the bike fans rode up and down the start line in their droves, the motorcycling equivalent of a kickaround on the Wembley turf before an FA Cup final. And who could blame them?