David Jefferies continued his rise as the new force on the island, adding another three victories to his rapidly growing tally. But 2000 belonged as much to an old master as it did to the new millennium man. At 48 years of age, Joey Dunlop defied the odds and silenced the doubters by winning the Formula 1 TT – leading from start to finish. He went on to complete a remarkable hat-trick with victories in the Lightweight and Ultra-Lightweight TTs, taking his career total to a seemingly unassailable 26 wins before the sport tragically lost him forever.

Joey’s final TT podium came in that year’s Senior, won in record-breaking fashion by Jefferies. Standing alongside them was third-placed John McGuinness, who was fast getting to grips with the Mountain Course, having secured an emotional victory earlier in the week for the Chrysalis BMW team.