Fifteen-time TT winner Michael Dunlop will compete alongside Italian Stefano Bonetti on the Factory S1-R Lightweight Paton this June.

For Dunlop, it will be only his third outing in the Lightweight race having only previously competed in the inaugural event of 2012 and 2017. Riding Kawasakis on both occasions, the first year saw him finish in an unfamiliar 13th but despite concentrating on setting up the new GSXR1000 Suzuki for the Superbike races last year saw him be far more competitive.

Indeed, riding the McAdoo Racing-backed ER6 650cc Kawasaki, Dunlop finished in seventh and lapped at 117.965mph in the process despite stopping with a technical fault at mid-race distance and is sure to feature prominently on the factory-supported Paton.

Bonetti, meanwhile, secured his best TT result to date in 2016 when he finished fifth and was in contention for a podium last year before being forced to retire on the second lap. With a fastest lap of 118.498mph, the addition of Dunlop to the team is sure to benefit the Italian as well.

Dunlop said: ’It will be a real honour to represent the Paton factory at this year’s TT. I’ve managed to win races for five different manufacturers at the TT and I will be doing everything I can to make it six.

’I’m really looking forward to having a proper go at the Lightweight TT this year. It’s already looking like a really competitive race with the strongest field the race has had to date and if I’m on the top step at the end of the race I will have earned it.’