The family of Robert Dunlop, who was tragically killed in practice last night, have given their full support to the races' continuation as scheduled tomorrow - and clerk of the course Mervyn Whyte has said there will be a minute's silence in his memory.
He added: "Robert was a wonderful ambassador for the North West 200 and for Northern Ireland and we believe he would have wished the event to go ahead"
Dunlop's friend and former team-mate Michael Rutter said: "I would like to pass on my thoughts to the friends and family of Robert, whom I was a good friend and also a team-mate to at the TT in 1993. He was a great character around the paddock and will be sadly missed by everyone, he achieved so much in his career and it's a sad loss to the sport."
Rutter will start from second place on the grid in the big race. Pole position was taken from him by HM Plant Honda's John McGuinness. "We’ve made a few little changes: a couple of clicks here and there and the bike is a weapon, really fast. I just got my head down and did 13 laps just to get used to the bike. We ended up fastest in the session and it was nice to nick pole from Michael Rutter on the North West 200 sponsored Ducati. I’ve been coming here a long time so there’s no game plan at all. It’s a circuit that plays into your hands really," said McGuinness.