North West 200 winner William Dunlop has been left disappointed by the organisers’ decision to run a Supersport race on the Thursday evening of race week.

At the official launch of the international road race at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on Tuesday, it was confirmed that three races will now be held following final practice on Thursday, May 16, including the opening Superstock, Supertwin 650 and Supersport events.

A revised five-race schedule will run on Saturday, May 18, with two Superbike races, plus the second Supersport, Superstock and Supertwin races.

However, Dunlop – who beat Alastair Seeley in a thrilling Supersport opener on the Triangle course in May to claim his maiden four-stroke success at the North West – has reservations about the inclusion of a Supersport race on Thursday’s bill.

The Ballymoney ace, who split from Wilson Craig’s Honda team in an amicable separation last week, believes the decision has taken some of the prestige away from the class.

“I’d love to have seen both Supersport races held on the Saturday, because they usually provide the best racing,” he told the News Letter.

“Nobody’s going to care if you win the 600cc race on the Thursday because most people come for the Saturday racing.

“It’s taken a bit of the shine off it and it means that Saturday’s Supersport race is going to be the big one now,” he added.

“It was the same when I won the 125cc race at the Ulster Grand Prix on the Thursday of race week – it didn’t feel like a proper win.

“I think they could easily have kept both Supersport races for the Saturday and run a full six races without any problems.

“I suppose if they run out of time on the Thursday to run three races then they always have the option of switching one of the races to the Saturday.”

Dunlop – who has been linked to Shaun Muir’s Yamaha team but has yet to finalise his plans for 2013 – says one positive is the inclusion of a Supertwin class on the Saturday, which offers riders the chance to have a break in between the feature races.

“This year it was tough going with five races one after the other, so the Supertwin race means we can get a break,” he said.

“I know the organisers were thinking about the five-race rule, which might have meant some riders would’ve missed the Supertwin race on the Saturday if they decided to run six races, but for me the Supersport races are the big ones along with the Superbike races.”

As revealed in the News Letter yesterday, Vauxhall Motors have ramped up their involvement with the North West 200, taking over as title sponsors from Relentless Energy Drink.

A host of top riders attended the launch in Belfast, including John McGuinness, Michael Dunlop, Alastair Seeley, Lee Johnston, Stephen Thompson, Denver Robb and newcomer David Johnson from Australia.

The 2013 North West 200 will take place next year from Sunday, May 12 to Saturday, May 18.

A revamped and interactive website, http://www.vauxhallnorthwest200.co.uk will provide all the latest information about the event and will be online soon.

An official App will also be launched, enabling fans to purchase tickets, view lap times and access updates about the famous event.



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