Tragedies in Irish Road Racing

Its that time of year in Northern Ireland when the public roads are closed off and the real men of racing fire up their bikes for the North West 200.

Unfortunately, I heard last night that it's a sad start to the road racing season this year. Joey Dunlop's brother Robert was riding in the 250 practice at Mathers Cross when the engine of his bike seized and he was thrown off at 160 mph. I'll always remember him racing in black leathers on a Norton at the NW200 while the other riders wore bright colours and rode the latest works bike from Honda & Suzuki. He's been doing it for a long time and even held the record for the most wins at the NW200.
Then another shocking piece of news - Martin Finnegan was killed earlier in the month at a road race meeting at Tandragee in Northern Ireland. He was an awesome rider & could literally make a bike fly. These guys are legends - riding on public roads at 200mph with no run off - great entertainment for the spectators but fatal for the rider if it goes wrong!
Racing at the North West 200 kicks off just before the FA Cup Final at 11am GMT on Saturday 17th May and if you've got broadband you can log onto the BBC Sport website and watch live coverage of the racing.
If the weather stays dry then the racing will be fantastic - definitely worth a look if you have the internet speed to keep you connected.

Here's a bit of video to wet your appetite!