Michael Dunlop - the most successful ever Isle of Man TT racer - has withdrawn his Ducatis from this week's North West 20 races, only weeks after announcing a factory Ducati partnership for the superbike and superstock classes.

And he has suggested he may stick with alternative machinery for the TT as well rather than using Ducatis there.

The news that he was going to switch to Ducati from the BMW machines he used 12 months ago was not a huge surprise despite Ducati’s lack of superbike success at the TT, given Dunlop had given Ducati its first victories in 20 years in the supersport class last year.

This year is an important one for Ducati as it celebrates the company's 100th anniversary, and the deal marked a substantial leap of faith for Dunlop, considering Ducati has been notably absent from the TT winners' ranks even as it established itself as the dominant force in superbike racing elsewhere.

However, speaking in a statement posted on his social media channels just one day before practice at his home race in Northern Ireland, the North West 200, is set to get underway on Wednesday, Dunlop admitted that they hadn’t had enough time just yet to prepare the V4 Panigale machine for the roads.

“With this new full WSBK Ducati V4R version having just arrived to the team at very late notice,” the statement explained, “we feel it is appropriate for the team to continue testing over the coming weeks and develop the bike further.

“We are looking forward to working along with Ducati so we can put the project in a good place and get testing done before we get it to the roads in the future.”

The news comes as no huge surprise given both reports from last weekend’s British Superbike test at Oulton Park, where Dunlop joined the field for additional track time, and his own past history of late bike switches to ensure that he’s on the most competitive package he can field in his self-run team.

In fact, should the decision also extend to the TT (something that feels likely given the narrow window between Saturday’s NW200 and the start of TT practice on May 25), it will mark the third time that Dunlop has shown signs of running Ducati machinery at the TT only to change his mind before the race.

In typical Dunlop style, it's not entirely clear just yet what machinery he'll run to replace the Ducatis, with both Honda and BMW options at his disposal.

He’s worked closely with British Superbike team Hawk Racing for many years and its Honda bikes are in the North West 200 paddock. But Dunlop has also cryptically shared a photo with the BMW superstock bike he used in 2025, a machine that he also ran earlier this month at the Cookstown 100 road race.