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 BBC 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.
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.
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 ??
I'm glad I'm not in Mervyn's shoes today !!!
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) from 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 money and 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 circuit on Tuesday, he overshot the chicane at Juniper and ended up in the hedge. 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.
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