Steve Plater was more philosophical about it as it's the same track for everyone and it could provide over-taking possibilities.

The provisional top six positions at the minute are :

125cc : William Dunlop, Chris Palmer, Renzo Van Der Donckt ( as tipped by Phillip McCallen !), Sam Dunlop, Jon Vincent and Nigel Moore.

Superbike : Steve Plater, John McGuinness, Stuart Easton, with Michael Dunlop the top Irish rider in 4th, Conor Cummins 5th and Ryan Farquhar in sixth.

Supersport: Bruce Anstey, William Dunlop, Keith Amor (on Johnny Rea's WSS 08 bike ) Ryan Farquhar, Guy Martin and Michael Dunlop.

An oil spillage put paid to the Superstocks tonight so Thursday's practice had better be rain free for these guys.

Stuart Easton, The Flying Scotsman, went straight out of the pits in the Superbike practice and posted 204mph through the speed trap on his Swann Honda Fireblade ! Unofficially this is a new triangle record ! Michael Rutter's crown has gone....

All in all, a good and safe evening's practice...apart from the stockers of course.

Hopefully the weather forecast for the rest of the week is wrong, but if you are coming up multiple layers and waterproofs are the order of the day. Must go back and check my Podium Predictor results. Hopefully won't be too far away!

I spent some time with Keith Amor and we got chatting about his superbike and how it compares to his superstocks. He was telling me about how the superbike is filling the road down the straights, whereas he feels he could ride his stocker with no hands on the bars.

The superbike is all singing, all dancing, with Factory swinging arm, Works Showa shock and £12,000 worth of front forks but still it won't handle, so his plan is to set it up as close to the stocker as possible and ditch the fancy forks for a set that is re-valued by K-Tech at a mere £2,000. I'll have to remember to grab a word with him tonight during qualifying to see if it's working.

Another thing some of the guys were saying was how tired and sore their upper bodies were from the battering they took from the combination of the buffeting of the wind and the heavy breaking forces they endure at the end of the big, long straights.

You would think that, having such long straights, they could release a bit on the bike, but not in speeds in excess of 190mph, and also, they have to concentrate so hard for so long, and when you have three or four bikes that you're practicing on, that translates to nearly two hours of riding. Just as well that most of the guys out there are as fit as most athletes!

All the top runners seemed to have a good run with the Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing men taking the top three spots in the 1000cc superstock class, Alastair (the wizard) Seeley just elbowing out Cameron Donald and Bruce Anstey.

In the supersport, Michael Dunlop topped the sheets from Stevie Plater and Scotland's Keith Amor. Davy Lemon headed the 125cc class and Englishman (but Broughshane resident) Christian Elkin was fastest in the 250cc. Again, TAS boy Bruce Anstey leads the superbike qualifying in a class in which pretty much everyone took a turn at the front.

Apart, that is, from Michael Rutter, who was as far down as 17th at one point on his new NW200 R1 Yamaha, with which he still seems to be struggling. I've watched him at Brands and Oulton, and he just doesn't look at home at all on the all new cross plane cranked Yam, but talking to him on the grid before setting off, he said that they had completely altered the bike after the Oulton race, but unfortunately they haven't quite found that sweet spot just yet.

So far, the sun is shining, the paddock is full and the anticipation is rising. I've just been strolling round talking to a few of the guys and I think from listening to them that this year's superbike races are going to be real crackers and very hard to call. I do reckon that the winners will come from across the water however, as none of our local boys seem to have a properly pukka superbike.

Probably our best chance of seing a local winner is in the smaller classes with maybe another Dunlop win or even Seeley or Farquhar in the 600s and 1000cc superstock.

There is so much happening, even on the day's when there is no practice, that there is always something to entertain visitors and fans of all ages - I even heard a rumour that the BBC's own Stephen Watson will be attempting the Wall of Death!

Hope you all enjoy the racing, I'll be back during the week with anything I see or hear behind the scenes and around the paddock.

Certainly the gutsiest ride of the day came from Michael Dunlop, who won the 250cc race under very difficult circumstances and dedicated it to his father Robert. He received a standing ovation the whole way round the circuit and I'm sure there were more that a few people with a tear in their eye and a lump in their throat.

Stevie Plater was, for me, the man of the meeting, taking two Supersport 600 wins and the second Superbike race, with Michael Rutter winning the first. There was also a superb debut win for Michael Wilcox in the 125cc race, and Carrickfergus man Alastair Seeley won a thrilling Superstock race.

Don't forget that you can catch all the action on BBC1 Northern Ireland on Sunday, 18th May at 10.20pm and the on Monday, 19th May at 9.00pm. There's also a two-and-a-half hour programme on BB2 this Saturday, 25th May. With the superb helicopter shots of the 12 man gaggle of slipstreaming riders in the Supersport race, as well as the many kerb cams and onboard footage not available in the live streaming, it's viewing definitely not to be missed.

So, that's the end of our NW200 blog for 2008. I've really enjoyed doing it and hopefully we'll be back next year in some shape or form.

Our thoughts are also with Darren Burns who was involved in the incident, and we wish him well and a speedy recovery as he recovers from his injuries.

In news from yesterday's timings, John McGuinness continued to top the time sheets in the Superbike class, with Keith Amor the fastest on the Superstocks and Steve Plater taking pole for the Supersport 600. Best of the local riders was Alistair Seeley, qualifying second in both the Superstock and Supersport.

It's all shaping up to be a great day's racing tomorrow, and with the sun being out I'm sure there'll be records galore broken, so if you are coming up to the circuit make sure and get here early as the roads close at 10am. If you're not, then you can keep up to date either online at bbc.co.uk/nw200 or by listening to BBC Radio Ulster from 11am on 1341 Medium Wave.

Well, it's Thursday and the weather is great again, so some super fast lap speeds should be achieved tonight. After a day off yesterday the riders will be floating about the pits making a few alterations to their machines that they hope will make the difference to them being on pole or the second or third row of the grid.

The good weather has also brought the fans out in their droves, the paddock is completely packed with people hoping to catch a glimpse of their heroes and their machines, get a few autographs and maybe a souvenier or two.

Last night, I was involved in the Fans Forum on BBCi. It went very well and we got loads of emails and texts from all over the world, far too many to get them all answered unfortunately. But keep sending them in and hopefully tonight we'll be able to get through a few more and, you never know, one of them might even be yours!

John McGuinness seemed very happy last night with his times as he topped both the Superbike and 250cc timesheets, seemingly without pushing it too much as the track was very dusty.

The Relentless Suzuki by TAS boys, Bruce Anstey and Cameron Donald, had a smooth running evening swapping between their Superbike and Superstock machines with only a few minor gearing changes. Steve Plater spent a bit of time in the pit lane while changes were made to his machine to suit the triangle circuit, and team-mate Ian Hutchinson failed to register a lap on his Supersport machine due to a fuel mapping glitch at the start of the session, gearing issues and then the red flag situation at Black Hill. Ryan Farquhar, Alistair Seeley and Stephen Thompson all had solid sessions, setting good times for Saturday.

All is looking good for race day on Saturday, but before that we have Thursday's practice and of course our Fans Forum.

That's all from me on what is a fairly quiet day around the paddock, but it'll all heat up again tomorrow, so keep checking back here for news and opinions from myself and Phillip McCallen.

For the first time I sat in on the newcomers briefing, and on their lap of the circuit in the bus, with Phillip McCallen and Roger Marshall taking them through each section. Along with everyone else I'm sure, I found it very informative and interesting, and the banter between the two boys was mighty. Phillip also does a great video circuit guide on the NW200 site.

The weather so far has been fantastic and looking out to sea you could easily mistake it for being somewhere in Spain, so hopefully practice tonight should run smoothly and we'll maybe get to see some cracker times set. I'm off to be the roving reporter for the live streaming coverage, but I'll be back with more of my thoughts soon.

Watch me and Cameron go Back to the Future...

You can watch video of me answering Phillip McCallen's questions at the press launch of the NW200 in the Ulster Folk & Transport museum...

Or if you don't want to listen to us rabbiting on, you can read the shorter version of my answers below.

Who was your motorbiking hero? And which local rider do you think stands the best chance of getting on the podium this year? See if you agree with me and post your comments...
 
How would sum up the NW200 in one word?
Awesome.
 
Who was your biking hero when you were growing up?
Eddie Lawson.
 
Which bike currently at the NW200 would you like to ride in a one-off race now?
Michael Rutter's NW200 1098 Ducati.
 
Worst moment on a bike?
Finding out i had no brakes on the superbike at the end of the back straight in Almeria Spain and having to jump off, breaking my knee. Ouch!
 
Best moment on a bike?
Wining the 250 championship in 2001.
 
Favourite bike of all time - on or off the track?
RS250cc Honda.
 
If you could choose to have any job (other than riding... eh, ...bikes) what would you do?
I think I'd have to stay in biking in some capacity, so probably a team manager.
 
What has been the biggest innovation in bike racing in the last ten years?
The change from 500cc twostroke screamers to fourstroke moto GP machines.
 
Which local rider has the best chance of a podium this year at the NW200?
Ryan Farquhar.
 
Favourite part of the NW200 circuit and why?
Start & finish in front of the big screen because now with the BBC coverage you can see right around the circuit.