TT racing ace Michael Dunlop gave ferry operators a headache when he decided to switch to BMW machinery half way through practice week.

The bike he wanted was still in the UK and Dunlop needed it on the island as quickly as possible. It arrived in time for last night's (Thursday) practice session.

Steam Packet chief executive Mark Woodward said: 'At this time of year, all of our sailings are extremely busy, so finding room for a van to bring the Buildbase BMW bike here at such short notice was quite a headache.

'We worked through the logistics, and managed to re-allocate space, in order to find room on the Ben-my-Chree sailing from Heysham on Thursday afternoon, meaning the van arrived just before the evening practice session.'

More than 12,000 people are arriving over the next few days to join the many thousand of TT fans here for the 2015 festival.

Mr Woodward said: 'However, all those fans are coming to enjoy the racing, so we felt it was important to do everything we could to
make sure one of the TT’s biggest stars had the bike he needed to ensure thrilling racing for all the spectators.'

Michael Dunlop said he was grateful for the support, adding: 'I know all the boats are packed at this time of year and it wasn’t easy for them, so I’ll be trying to say thanks in the best way possible, by winning on the BMW.'


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