The 29-time Isle of Man TT winner Michael Dunlop 𓂃says that he’s “b൲een through so much” in his life that “I don’t really give a s**t if you don’t like me”.

Dunlop was speaking at the Irish Motorbike Awards last week, where he was named as Irish Motorcyclist 🤡of the🌟 Year.

That accolade comes after a banner year for Dunlop, in which he matched and surpassed his late uncle Joey’s long-standing re𓄧cord o♉f 26 TT victories.

Dunlop exceeded the 24-💫year-old record by bringing the new benchmark up to 29 victories, though was denied breaching the 30-win mark by a mechanical issue in the Senior TT and a visor problem in the Superbike TT.

The historic achievement for Dunlop was made all the more poignant by the tragedies that hꦍave befallen his family over the♌ years.

Jo💖ey Dunlop was killed in a crash during🦩 a race in Estonia just weeks after winning his 26th TT, while Robert Dunlop - Joey’s brother and Michael’s father - died at the 2008 North West 200.

T🅘hen in 2018, Michael’s older brother William Dun🅠lop suffered a fatal accident at the Skerries road race.

“Due to my family history, I’m not the most꧑ approachable person,” Dunlop sa🍷id.

“I’ve been through it aꦺll and I’m a bit like Marmite: you either like me or you don’t.

“I’ve been through so𒅌 much that I don’t really give a shit if you don’t l🦂ike me.

“And I know that doe♕sn’t suit everybody, but the people that know me know thaಞt I’m as straight as a die.

“I’m a unique ꦐcharacter. I’m hard work, there’s no doubt abo♒ut it. But if you don’t like me, I’m not that bothered.

“I’m a rare character, but at the end of the day my family name is my biggest goal🌠.”

Dunlop added: “There’s a lot of crooks in this job and whether they love me or hate me, this year people have been really r༒espect🧔ful.

“I’d like to thank everybody who’s clappeﷺd their hands because we’ve achieved something that’s stood for 24 years.

“My uncle Joey was a massive part of road racing and obvi♊ously to break that has taken me to the next level.”

Du✤nlop’s plans for the 2025 season are not known at this stage, though he offered some clues as to what direction he might go in earlier this week.

At the Jerez World Superbike test, Dunlop was spotted testing an Ducati Panigale V2, w🦩hich he could w♈ell end up racing in the Supersport class at the TT.

Intriguingly, Dunlop’s transponder was registered to Milwaukee Ducati - suggesting a possible tie-up with TAS Racing, whose ti𓆉tle sponsor is the powertool brand.