Scots cops target North West 200 fans

Scottish police are out in force this weekend to catch riders on their way to the North West 200 Irish road races.

Strathclyde police have set up a road check on the A77 at Girvan, on the route to the Stranraer ferry terminal, specifically to catch those of us heading for the ferry to Northern Ireland.

As many as eight police bikes and five police cars have been spotted stopping bikes.

A Strathclyde police spokesman said: “With the North West 200 races taking place in Northern Ireland this weekend we knew there would be an increased number of bikes on the road so we are taking the opportunity to promote safer riding as part of the on-going A77 safety initiative.”

Dumfries & Galloway police are also operating a high visibility operation on the A75 and A7, which they say is ‘intended to increase the safety of motorcyclists’.

After a wet Superbike qualifying session on Thursday Michael Rutter has taken pole position for Saturday’s race.

The wet weather meant all the riders were well down on the lap record of 123.36mph, with Rutter taking the fastest lap at 108.62 followed by John McGuiness on 108.50 and Ian Lougher with 107.68.

Despite the conditions Rutter managed to take his British Superbike CBR1000RR Fireblade to the fastest recorded speed on any part of the circuit – at 196mph.

Check back throughout the weekend for all the action from the North West 200, World Superbikes at Monza and MotoGP at Le Mans.