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+----- Thread: William Dunlop - Thoughts on NW200 2013 (/showthread.php?tid=15421)
William Dunlop - Thoughts on NW200 2013 - Malcolm - 22-05-2013
![[Image: wdunloplogo.jpg]](http://www.ttwebsite.com/gifs/wdunloplogo.jpg)
Everyone was talking about the weather and rightly so. Not an ideal situation but we still managed to take a lot of positives with us for the TT & Ulster GP
Supersport – Tuesday practice was the first dry miles I have done on this years Road Racing Milwaukee Yamaha / Chris Dowd 600.
Initially the bike wasn’t perfect and it took some time to get the right set up. However, we have a lot of experience around the Milwaukee Yamaha team, plus drafted in additional assistance in German Marcus & experienced local guy Phil.
All the guys done a fantastic job creating a really strong bike for Thursday evening. Tyre choice wasn’t easy to call for racing, I went for a cut rear and a full wet front. As we got underway it was clear the cut rear was the wrong choice. This wasn’t the start I had planned, but the bike give me reasons to be upbeat for Saturday.
Superstock – Tuesday was the first time I turned a wheel on the Milwaukee Yamaha Superstocks. It is always exciting and challenging when you get on a new bike to see how it handles and performs. Ideally I needed laps done to get familiar with the bike. Unfortunately I only got one lap in on Tuesday’s practice and no running on Thursday. This left me with a poor grid position.
My luck continued with the superstock come racing, on lap 1 heading into Magherabuoy my shoulder popped out, I managed to push it back in place but not an ideal end for Thursday evening.
My team mate Connor Cummins has tested with the Superstock and proved its a good bike with a solid 6th place finish.
![[Image: wdunloponbackwheelnw2013.jpg]](http://www.ttwebsite.com/gifs/wdunloponbackwheelnw2013.jpg)
William at the 2013 North West
Superbike – I can sum the Superbike up in one word, ‘fantastic’! I am confident I would have lined up on the front row if circumstances where slightly different.
At the start of qualifying I went out on wets but the track was drying fast. I stayed out to get a banker time in which was good enough for a second row start position. A banker costs you 3 laps and around 15 mins (out lap, banker, in lap).
With dry tyres on I only had one shot to better my time before qualifying ended. There was a lot of slower traffic on track and I didn’t get a clear run, meaning the banker stood as my time. I have a lot of confidence in the superbikes handling and performance and looking forward to riding this at the TT.
Weather – I am disappointed how the weekend unfolded for the fans, marshals, teams, sponsors & organisers. The conditions where ridiculuous and by far the worst I have experienced. I understand expectation, but the warm up / sighter lap in my opinion was a lap too many.
Finally I’d like to thank all the Milwaukee Yamaha guys for their hard work and effort in some very challenging conditions.
.