Rapid Ducati's Michael Rutter says that, despite having a reputation for being a wet-weather demon, he is hoping for a dry day at the Northwest 200 tomorrow otherwise local men may have an edge.

The British Superbike front runner and 12-time NW200 winner had some technical gremlins yesterday which limited his Superbike laps towards the end of the session but he still manage to fend off team-mate Martin Jessopp for the number one slot.

“I’m really happy and can’t really ask any more, the bike performed really well, we had a couple of technical issues towards the end of session but the team worked hard to allow me to get out one lap at a time," said Rutter.

"Hopefully it will be dry on Saturday. I know my reputation is to ride well in the rain but riding fast on wet roads like these is something you can only really master after a lot of practice. It is very different from a wet short circuit; if it’s raining one of the local guys may have the edge.”