Honda Legends' Michael Dunlop topped the Vauxhall North West 200 Superbike timesheets during first practice today and did it by a massive 7.6s from Bruce Anstey with a time of 4'33.173
The opening sessions were run in wet conditions with most of the top men choosing to do one lap and then pull in but as the track dried, Dunlop was not to be denied and pulled out a commanding lead even though he did have some troubles.
"I couldn’t see where I was going because Martin Jessopp blew up in front of me and covered my screen in oil. I had to keep my head above the bubble for most of the time. But I’m happy enough, we are on the front two rows in every class if it rains on Thursday," he said.
Kawasaki's Dean Harrison was behind Anstey with British Superbike star Josh Brookes storming into fourth place on his debut with a lap of 4'43.580 - ten seconds behind Dunlop.
William Dunlop was next up on the Milwaukee Yamaha with Michael Rutter and Cameron Donald in close attendance. John McGuinness was eighth, Conor Cummins ninth and Ben Wylie rounded out the top ten.
Brookes' team-mate Guy Martin didn't put in a time good enough to qualify, so he had better hope it doesn't rain on Thursday while Dan Cooper, Alastair Seeley (holed radiator), Derek Sheils, Martin Jessopp (blown engine), James Hillier and Simon Andrews also didn't make the cut.
