JOEY DUNLOP: The Man Behind the Legend

Every bike fan knows about the hugely successful racing career of Joey Dunlop, but not so many know about the other major events in his life, like his one-man mercy missions to Eastern Europe and his bravery during the sinking of the fishing boat he was travelling on to the Isle of Man TT. Fewer still know what the man himself was like to work with and race against, but during research for a new book about the road racing legend, I was lucky enough to track down scores of people who knew and worked with Joey, who managed him, were team-mates with him, who raced against him or sponsored him and, together, their memories and stories helped me understand much more about the shy, quiet and humble man that few people ever got really close to.

There were some surprises too, like learning that Joey was, initially at least, absolutely terrified of flying. Respected photographer Don Morley, who worked closely with Joey as the Rothmans Honda team’s official photographer in the 1980s, revealed Joey’s greatest fear. “Joey wouldn’t fly – he was petrified of flying,” he says. “The only time he ever flew, during the years I worked with him, was when we had to go to the launch of Honda’s VFR750 at Jerez in Spain in 1986, and there wasn’t enough time for Joey to drive there.