TT ace Michael Dunlop is to contest the FIM Endurance World Championship this season.

The 34 year old previously took part in the series in 2013, but only made one start with the Honda TT Legends team alongside John McGuinness and Simon Andrews.

This year Dunlop will form part of the Honda-powered TRT27 AZ Moto line-up in the Superstock-based FIM Endurance World Cup alongside team-mates Ben Luxton, Tom Oliver and Tom Ward.

The first round of the series takes place next weekend in France with the 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans.

Speaking to www.fimewc.com, Dunlop, who will be targeting a historic 26th TT win this summer, said: ‘Both Toms had worked with a friend of mine in British Superbike and they sort of needed someone who knew the bike a little bit and asked me if I’d care to join them.

‘I said, “yeah, no problem”. It’s obviously different to the bike I rode last year but I’d like to be able to give them a hand because they’re fast lads. If we can give them a help with the base it would be great to see them doing well.

‘But I don’t see a reason why I can’t be fast here. If we get the base good, I should be fast as well. I came here with the Honda 11 years ago and I was fast then, I was the fastest of the group.

‘It’s a different ball game [to the TT] and that’s just the way it is but there are obviously four of us here this year. Ben has joined the team and he looks fast so hopefully we can put on a good show.’

Dunlop added that he thinks his style and experience at the TT and other road races will put him in good stead for this series: ‘Something like this would be great and it would be a good window for me, especially for what I do.

‘Somebody like me should excel at this because it’s plug along, keep going, a bit like the TT, you’ve got to keep going, keep pushing, keep going, keep pushing. 

‘A lot of people do 25 minutes and that’s the race over. In the TT I’m doing an hour and 45 minutes and having two races in the day.’

Of his plans for the remainder of the four-event EWC season, Dunlop said: ‘It was a bit of a squeeze to get this one, the team has obviously switched manufacturers and there’s been a big push to get this thing going.

‘I’d love to [carry on] and obviously a massive goal would be to go and do Suzuka but it’s never that easy, but time will tell probably.’