Hello from a very wet and dull Portstewart. It's a miserable day but the weather doesn't stop the NW200 attracting its fair share of visitors, including some big names in Irish sport. Freshly crowned A1GP Champion, Adam Carroll, arrived in style this morning in his black Porsche Carrera ...very nice. I took him for a walk around the paddock and he was impressed with the size of the operation and is an avid fan of the biking, keeping an eye on the practices via our online coverage.
As you can see by the pic below, Derry boxer John Duddy, called in to the New Media hub to see for himself, how we bring you the live streaming. The middle-weight, who fights out of New York, revealed he is a Spurs fan. After his recent fight ended in defeat he had a small piece of good news delivered to him by a friend, who told him that Spurs were 2-0 up at Old Trafford against Manchester United.........but, as we now know, the Champions elect ( it hurts me to say that as a L'pool fan ) went on to record a stunning comeback, to win the match 5 - 2 !!
I had a call from Jonathan Rea who is in South Africa for the World SuperBike Championship and was able to watch the practice session at the NW200, online. Right, off to prepare for tonight's preview programme on ´óÏó´«Ã½ 1 NI.
Here's hoping for at least some dry weather tomorrow. Stephen
Last night as you are probably aware, was a bit of a damp squib. The 125 and 250's got the first half of their session in the dry, cold and dull conditions. Then came the rain. It wasn't heavy to start with and not even covering the whole track, but it was heavy enough to mean that the riders' weren't able to improve on their lap times.
Ìý
By the end of the evening clerk of the course Mervyn Whyte had to call a halt to proceedings, as conditions eventually got too wet and too dull to continue, and that meant the Supersport 600 riders didn't get to go out at all, which leads us to the question of where, or even if, riders who didn't qualify on Tuesday night will be placed on the grid.
Ìý
You may say tough luck, if you didn't qualify... you can't race, but we're talking about people like Conor Cummins, John Burrows, Alistair Seeley and Michael Rutter amongst others and these are the guys who people are coming out to watch, so some special dispensation will have to be given. The next question is where exactly do you fit the guy who finished second in last years event, without upsetting people ??
Ìý
Ìý
I'm glad I'm not in Mervyn's shoes today !!!Ìý
We're getting ready for the second practice session tonight and I'm looking forward to getting onto the grid to bring you the live coverage on the website. Hopefully it won't rain!
Just been talking to Michael Dunlop, who says he's not fussed what the weather does tonight as his Tuesday practice went well. But I did discover that he wears two different coloured boots - one orange and one blue. He told me it's a fashion statement, but the truth is that he can acquire one (and I don't know how)Ìýfrom the Belfast Motorbike Show and the other from the Dublin Bike Show.
Also bumped into a North West fan who told me that Steve Plater made an unscheduled pit stop during Tuesday practice when he had to call into a petrol station to borrow moneyÌýand refuel. I find this very hard to believe. Please, can someone confirm?
Embarrassing moment of the week could well be for Stephen Thompson. I have been told by a very good source that, while showing the newcomers around the circuitÌýon Tuesday, . Very much a case of do as I say, not as I do. Please, can someone send us a photograph?
FInally, I would also just like to say happy anniversary to timekeeper Sally Best, who's here for the 60th time. If you've benn coming to the North West longer than that, let us know.
Hi folks. Yesterday I took a stroll through the paddock and caught up with a few of the boys for a chat and a catch up.
I spent some time with Keith Amor and we got chatting about his superbike and how it compares to his superstocks. He was telling me about how the superbike is filling the road down the straights, whereas he feels he could ride his stocker with no hands on the bars.
The superbike is all singing, all dancing, with Factory swinging arm, Works Showa shock and £12,000 worth of front forks but still it won't handle, so his plan is to set it up as close to the stocker as possible and ditch the fancy forks for a set that is re-valued by K-Tech at a mere £2,000. I'll have to remember to grab a word with him tonight during qualifying to see if it's working.
Another thing some of the guys were saying was how tired and sore their upper bodies were from the battering they took from the combination of the buffeting of the wind and the heavy breaking forces they endure at the end of the big, long straights.
You would think that, having such long straights, they could release a bit on the bike, but not in speeds in excess of 190mph, and also, they have to concentrate so hard for so long, and when you have three or four bikes that you're practicing on, that translates to nearly two hours of riding. Just as well that most of the guys out there are as fit as most athletes!
So folks, we've had our first night's practice sessions, which were run in slightly windy conditions but under beautiful sunshine.
All the top runners seemed to have a good run with the men taking the top three spots in the 1000cc superstock class, Alastair (the wizard) Seeley just elbowing out Cameron Donald and Bruce Anstey.
In the supersport, Michael Dunlop topped the sheets from Stevie Plater and Scotland's Keith Amor. Davy Lemon headed the 125cc class and Englishman (but Broughshane resident) Christian Elkin was fastest in the 250cc. Again, TAS boy Bruce Anstey leads the superbike qualifying in a class in which pretty much everyone took a turn at the front.
Apart, that is, from Michael Rutter, who was as far down as 17th at one point on his new NW200 R1 Yamaha, with which he still seems to be struggling. I've watched him at Brands and Oulton, and he just doesn't look at home at all on the all new cross plane cranked Yam, but talking to himÌýon the grid before setting off, he said that they had completely altered the bike after the Oulton race, but unfortunately they haven't quite found that sweet spot just yet.
Hello from the North Coast! I'm Stephen Watson and this is the first of my blogs,Ìýin whichÌýI'll be keeping you up to date with what's happening here at the Triangle all week.
My job this week is to present all our live inserts on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Newsline every day, as well as hostÌýtwo live preview programmes on Wednesday and Friday, and front the live coverage on the grid on Saturday. If you have any quirky stories you think we should be covering please letÌýme know.
Yet again we are beaming the all over the world on this website,Ìýso wherever you are watching please let me know - I'd be delighted to hear from you. As I write this during Tuesday pratice we've just had emails landing in the inbox from Paul in Tenerife,ÌýGregory in San Diego,Ìýand Curtis in Florida to name but a few. I still find it amazing that so many people can now see this fantastic event in every literally every country on the planet - including John on an oil rig in Angola!! If you are enjoying the coverage then do tell us, and send us any questions you would like answered by our team of experts.
It's always nice to see familiar faces popping into say hello. One of the first visitors to the paddock area this week was European Tour golfer . A Portrush man, he flew in from America on Monday afternoon, and called in to see us en route to the Irish Open in Baltray. Ìýboss Hector Neill gave Graeme the run down on the new Suzuki Superbikes, but he couldn't resist asking the Ryder Cup star for a quick lesson - if you see him give him some stick!
I'd also like to hear your thoughts on any potential local winners this week. Can Michael Dunlop win aÌý600cc race like he did at Tandragee? Can Ryan Farquhar or Adrian Archibald get on the top step of the podium? Or will it be Alastair SeeleyÌýflyingÌýtheÌýflag again for Northern Ireland with theÌýUlster based TAS team?
Look forward to hearing from you.
Cheers,
Stephen.
The excitementÌýhas started for another year. My main objective today is to look after the newcomers competing at the North West 200 for the first time, make sure they'reÌýlooked afterÌýand get the first night of practice over safely.
We had the newcomers' briefing at 1.30pm and then at 2 o'clockÌýwe put them on the bus with my special helper Roger Marshall. Then weÌýtake them on aÌýcomplete circuit of the course andÌýgive them bothÌýtechnical and safety advice for each section of the course.
There were a few worried faces for the first few corners, but the time we had finished everyone was much happier.
It was the first chance for these guys from all over the world to see the NW200 circuit up close and personal.
Well, here we are again, up in at the . Isn't it hard to believe that it's been a year since we were last in these parts, it seems like no time at all.
So far, the sun is shining, the paddock is full and the anticipation is rising. I've just been strolling round talking to a few of the guys and I think from listening to them that this year's superbike races are going to be real crackers and very hard to call. I do reckon that the winners will come from across the water however, as none of our local boys seem to have a properlyÌýpukka superbike.
Probably our best chance of seing a local winner is in the smaller classes with maybe another Dunlop win or even Seeley or Farquhar in the 600s and 1000cc superstock.
There is so much happening, even on the day's when there is no practice, that there is always something to entertain visitors and fans of all ages - I even heard a rumour that the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s own Stephen Watson will be attempting the !
Hope you all enjoy the racing, I'll be back during the week with anything I see or hear behind the scenes and around the paddock.
The NW200 web team thought it was about time you lucky people had the chance to sample some screaming bikes on your mobiles. Our
NW200 mobile site already offers onboard video downloads direct to your hand sets, but now you can have a Seeley throttle throb or the dulcet tones of race commentary legend Keith Huewen, ranting about slip streams.
To sample our audio downloads you can either type
into your mobile browser or text
NW200 to
60011 and we'll send you a text with the link included. (texts cost between 10-15p).
And while you are up at the circuit you can send us your thoughts and questions, pics or even short videos. Simply text
MYNW200 followed by a space and then your contribution
to
60011 (texts cost 10-15p).
You may want to send us a text with a question for the fans forum live web stream which is also available behind the red button. Hosted by Stephen Watson and Steve Parrish a panel of riders and officials will answer your questions on Wednesday 13th May at 7.00pm.
To send pictures and
short videos (up to 50MB in size) via
MMS. Simply ensure that
MYNW200 is the first thing in the text component of your
multimedia message, then send it all to
60011 (multimedia
messages cost 20-65p).
Why not send us a pic of your pride and joy on two wheels or a snap of you and your mates at your favourite NW200 spot.
