The International North West 200 gets underway with the opening practice and qualifying sessions Tuesday, on the picturesque north coast of Northern Ireland.

The opening session, scheduled for 10am following a 9.30am road closing, will see Tyco Suzuki’s Josh Brookes make his much-anticipated debut on the public roads.

Brookes today received a specially made set of RST leathers, manufactured for the opening session, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to see them in the flesh tomorrow morning.

Both Brookes and Guy Martin will then be in action in the following sessions for Supersport [10.45am], Superbike [11.45am] and Superstock [1.45pm] with roads re-opening at 2.30pm approximately.


Josh Brookes:

“I’m up sampling the atmosphere in the paddock at this stage. All the preparation I could have done, is now completed, and I’m just looking forward to getting out on the bikes now. Hopefully the weather can play its part tomorrow and be kind to us all, as the opening laps are very important especially to any newcomers. The guys are putting the final touches to my Tyco Suzukis in the workshop, so I can’t wait to get started.”

Guy Martin:

“It’s all good boy. I’m looking forward to get cracking in the morning with Danny, Mark and Denver and the rest of Tyco Suzuki boys, and put some decent laps in on all the bikes. Josh is some boy, so it’ll be good to get to know him this year at the North West and TT. I expect him to be fast.”

Philip Neill – Team Manager:

“At this stage the North West 200 adrenalin is starting to flow and with the workshop currently a hive of activity with all our crew now here, it’s a pretty exciting time. The road racing events have a totally different feel about them to British championship so the next three or four weeks will change our focus. The North West has always been one of my favourite races of the year even though it can be very stressful. We just need the weather now so practice and qualifying can run smoothly.”

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