William won multiple Irish road race championships, he topped the Duke Road Race Rankings in 2015, won 4 North West 200 races, 7 Ulster Grand Prix victories and managed to get on the podium at the TT 4 times and a further 3 times at the Classic TT. He was also a regular front runner in the British 125cc championship earlier on in his career. He also took part in the final 250cc Grand Prix at Valencia in 2009.
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Joined Jul 2007
5K Posts | 1K+
unda cheese
Hate to see any rider die out there, but truth be told, I don’t miss him at all. The ....... never apologized to any rider he barged into. He was a dumb .... It may not be PC to speak badly of the dead, but the guy was a jerk.
It's wrong to speak badly of the dead when you're speaking about the wrong person. Jeez.
William was one of the nicest most humble guys on the grid, a genuine racing talent and the roads won't be quite the same without him.
Godspeed William
Godspeed William
I don't want to get into it on this thread, Johnny, but I think and hope, you've got the wrong person, mate.
If you want to expand or discuss further then we can start a new thread or you can PM me.
Joined Jul 2007
5K Posts | 1K+
unda cheese
Oh dear me! I've expressed a non-PC, unpopular opinion on PowerSlide and a few provincial types, who believe death confers sainthood on people who were ........ when alive think the penalty for this should be burning at the stake. When has that ever happened in the history of this forum?
Most every knowledgeable person I've ever conversed with on this forum believes Matt Mladin is a flaming ........ But were
he to die tomorrow - no doubt some people here would start crying crocodile tears and proclaiming Mladin the Mother Theresa
of racing.
I also think Mao, Pol Pot, Stalin and Ronald Regan were ......... Is it okay to think that even tho they're dead?
Or does that not meet with your approval?
I hate to break it to you but a lot of people think Rossi is an ......., and when he dies, their opinion won't change
Most every knowledgeable person I've ever conversed with on this forum believes Matt Mladin is a flaming ........ But were
he to die tomorrow - no doubt some people here would start crying crocodile tears and proclaiming Mladin the Mother Theresa
of racing.
I also think Mao, Pol Pot, Stalin and Ronald Regan were ......... Is it okay to think that even tho they're dead?
Or does that not meet with your approval?
I hate to break it to you but a lot of people think Rossi is an ......., and when he dies, their opinion won't change
What the .... are you babbling on about, until you can give an example of William being an ....... I suggest you do a bit of research. The only rider I can think of who he clashed with was his own brother Michael who was at fault himself because it boiled down to William beating him.
Joined Jun 2007
10K Posts | 1K+
Norah Head
I dont get the whole road circuit thing. Thats 4 dead from the same family. I cant see how they reconcile with that. When does their family decide ..... thats it Dunlops and bikes dont mix.
Mind you I'm fully aware of ..... what would they have been if they werent what they were?
I know some will say they died doing what they loved, but if you loved something surely you would want to keep doing it.
Change the circuits? Change the bikes? Change the ideology? Too many deaths in that game.
Surely there must be a better way. Seems such a shame.
Mind you I'm fully aware of ..... what would they have been if they werent what they were?
I know some will say they died doing what they loved, but if you loved something surely you would want to keep doing it.
Change the circuits? Change the bikes? Change the ideology? Too many deaths in that game.
Surely there must be a better way. Seems such a shame.
I think you've missed the point, Johnny.
No body is saying that you can't have an opinion and no one is saying that because an individual passes away that it nullifies their behavior in life.
The point myself and Ant are trying to make is that William was widely acknowledged as a genuinely humble and nice guy both on and off track. Therefore we think that you might be mixing him up with his brother Michael who is much more out spoken and confrontational.
William was never a divisive character and this is why we can't get our heads around your comments hence why we asked if you could check that you've got the right guy.
I understand the controversy Barry, I really do mate and the fragility of life becomes a lot more stark when you have kids.
But it's in the blood fella. I know that is over simplifying things but it's true. I wouldn't do road racing myself, but the only thing I can relate it to from personal experience is joining the Army. I never wanted to do anything else, to my very core I wanted to be a soldier, hence why I first went to the recruiting office at 14 and was in the Army at just turned 16. Despite having done operational tours from Central America to Bosnia and loosing a close friend in Iraq, I still wouldn't have done anything else.
Everyone has a passion that drives them and for some that passion carries a higher risk than others.
It's the buzz isn't it though, the thrill. Joey Dunlop was a good circuit rider back in the day occasionally beating genuine world class competitors like Schwantz, Gardner and Lucchinelli, he got on the podium in World Superbikes he even got a couple of top 10 finishes in Grand Prix as a wildcard on privately entered machinery. Robert Dunlop was a British champion on the circuits and went well as a wildcard in World Superbikes but both loved the roads, that was their bread and butter, it's what they were raised with, it's what they loved, somebody once asked Joey why he didn't commit to racing circuits full time and he said he didn't enjoy it.
William himself was a good circuit racer in his early career before he got the licence which allowed him to road race. Michael is no slouch on a circuit as well but again chooses not to do them, Roberts other son Daniel never bothered with bikes and instead joined the infantry and served on the front line in Afghanistan.
Joey's son Gary(now retired) went road racing, Sam Dunlop the son of Joey and Roberts other brother Jim(also a former road racer) is a road racer and Manx Grand Prix winner.
Seems to me like danger and thrill seeking is in the Dunlop blood.
I have no issue with riders who choose not to road race, in fact one of the great things about it is that you aren't forced to do it but I find it sad that people who do road race get criticised for it. Yes it's dangerous but so is the military, so is the fire brigade, so is mining and working on oil rigs but nobody ever calls those nutters. Far more people walk away from road racing than don't but that doesn't sell headlines.
Joined Jun 2018
143 Posts | 97+
New York
The thrill of road racing must be it. I got a little taste of circuit racing and road racing and it was amazing. However, my skill level did not support it being a career, so it's a hobby now. I could never fault a person for pursuing a passion, it's what makes us happy. If a person loses their life in that pursuit, then so be it. We went into that pursuit knowing full well this is a possible outcome.
William was 32 years old, same age as me, a lad who I grew up with who is also the same age will probably be dead before the year is out due to drinking, he's already lost a leg because of it but hasn't stopped him chugging back ridiculous amounts of alcohol. Now that is a waste of life, William at least made something of himself in his short life and had a great time doing so but he lived several lifetimes in those 32 years. Yes it is sad, especially that his little girl will never see him again and his unborn child won't meet him but they'll both grow up knowing what a great man their dad was and how well respected he is.
