Michael Laverty last lifted the Sunflower Trophy in 2010

The 37-year-old will ride for the Tyco BMW outfit but team-mate Christian Iddon misses the event through injury.

Laverty, who finished second to Glenn Irwin in last year's feature race, will face stiff opposition in the form of Danny Buchan and Richard Cooper.

Jeremy McWilliams will ride a Supertwin and a Moto3 bike for KMR Racing.

The 54-year-old will be competing on a Moto3 machine for the first time under the banner of former road racer Ryan Farquhar's team.

A quality Supertwins line-up will also include Canadian Darren James on another of Farquhar's Kawasaki bikes, McAdoo Kawasaki runner Eunan McGlinchey, Robert Kennedy, Paul McClung and Denver Robb.

Former British Supersport champion Laverty, Buildbase Suzuki rider Cooper, who makes his debut at the meeting, and FS3 Kawasaki pilot Buchan, a two-time winner, will start as favourites to battle it out for the premier prize in Irish short circuit motorcycling.

Buchan ended the season 11th in the 2018 BSB standings, with Cooper 12th and Laverty 13th.

Cooper won the final race of the championship at a rain sodden Brands Hatch on Sunday, his first victory for two years in the series.

The most recent of Laverty's six Sunflower triumphs came back in 2010.

They will be joined on the grid by Silicone Engineering Kawasaki rider Dean Harrison, David Haire, last year's third-place finisher, Lisburn's Carl Phillips, and Ulster Superbike champion Gerard Kinghan.

Stockport rider and Bishopscourt lap record holder Iddon was hoping to compete but will skip the event on medical grounds after breaking his collarbone at Silverstone last month.

He aggravated the injury further after crashing out in qualifying at Brands last weekend, where he finished fourth and fifth.