motor bikes, tragedy and fairy tales

I live in the middle of nowhere - but it is a very fast middle of nowhere. Right next to me is an open straight section of road that is just perfect for boy racers and Valentino Rossi wannabes to open up and 'see what she can do.' Perhaps understandably it is also an accident blackspot. That doesn't seem to deter the speed merchants and the air is often filled with the sound of squealing engines and the smell of rocket fuel.

Never is the road as busy as it is on this weekend each year. For this weekend is North West 200 weekend. The weekend when the roads between Coleraine, Portrush and Portstewart are closed for Motorcycle road racing. Hundreds of thousands of people converge on this tiny part of the world to watch. Usually I would be among them, but this year I couldn't make it. As the cars were heading North I was heading south.

12 miles from the races

18 miles from the races

24 miles from the races

This year the event was tinged with tragedy as 47 year old father of three, Robert Dunlop, died during one of the practise evenings. People not from here, or not part of the biking community may not have heard of him - but for the people of Ballymoney he was a legend.

His brother Joey had acheived folk hero status for winning the Formula One Championship five times. When he died while racing in Estonia eight years ago the people of Ballymoney erected a statue of him, and you can see photos of him in everything from Chip Shops to Barber Shops. He was the biggest thing to come out of Ballymoney since... well, ever.

Lesser men would have had trouble living in the considerable shadow of such a brother but Robert set about making a name for himself in his own right. His record 15 wins at the North West bears witness to his success. As a younger brother with immense hand-me-down shoes to fill myself I always had a special admiration for Robert and it hit me hard when I heard about his crash.

Racing and motorcycles are in the Dunlop blood and Robert could not give it up... He did try to retire but he got a real buzz from riding motorcycles. It is difficult to describe the feeling - you need to have done it yourself.

11 time TT winner, Phillip McCallen

He’d has crashes before, serious ones. In 1994 he had a major incident on the Isle of Man TT, but he recovered and returned to race again. He always returned to race again – until now.

He was a great ambassador for the sport in this country and further circles as well. It's a major tragedy for sport in this country.

North West 200 clerk of the course, Mervyn Whyte

But the most amazing part of this story – in my mind – is the fact that his sons, Michael and William went off to race yesterday. Despite the fact that their father had died just two days before. Even more amazing is the fact that Michael went on to win the race that his father had died preparing for. What greater tribute could be paid to a man who loved the race as much as Robert.

"I had to do it for him - I hope my dad's proud of me,"

Michael Dunlop

In a movie we would expect it to happen, but for it to happen in reality… Truly the stuff of fairy tales.