Rider dies in North West 200 Superbike incident

Image source, PacemakerImage caption, The red flag brought the Superbike session to a close after the incident at Station Corner

A rider has died after an incident in Superbike qualifying for the North West 200 international road race in Northern Ireland on Thursday.

The crash happened at Station Corner and a red flag brought the session to a close.

The rider has not been named because of the wishes of his family.

"The session was immediately red-flagged and emergency services attended the scene but unfortunately the rider succumbed to his injuries," said North West 200 organisers in a statement.

"The family have given their approval for the event to continue but have requested that the rider not be named at this time.

"Coleraine and District Motor Club, the organisers of the races, offer our sincere condolences to the family and team."

The fatality is the first at the North West 200 since Malachi Mitchell-Thomas was killed in a Supertwins race in 2016, and the rider becomes the 20th to lose their life in the 97-year history of the event.

Superbike qualifying was the first session of the day and the remaining sessions in the afternoon did not take place.

The qualifying sessions have been moved to Thursday night to replace the planned opening three races, and it has not yet been confirmed by race organisers if Saturday's schedule will contain any additional races on top of the planned six.

The North West 200 is an international road race that takes place on 8.97 miles of closed public roads on the north coast of Northern Ireland, between the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush.

Station Corner is a fast right-hand bend on the road between Portstewart and Coleraine.

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