There will be a lot of focus on the fitness and performance of Ian Hutchinson at the North West 200, which kicks off with the opening practice/qualifying sessions today (Tuesday).

The determined Yorkshireman fought his way back from another serious leg injury to complete 78 laps of Mallory Park recently.

Having only recently had an external frame removed from the left leg he shattered when crashing on the mountain in last year’s Senior TT, he was passed fit to race by the ACU. He rode and won a pair of club races in an East Midlands Racing Association meeting over the May Bank Holiday weekend, in order to obtain race signatures for his Mountain Course licence.

For sure, this week’s NW200 will be the real test when he will ride alongside his Honda Racing team-mate Lee Johnston for the first time.

It was at the North West last year that John McGuinness crashed the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 and suffered injuries that put him out of both the 2017 and 2018 TTs.

Manxmen Dan Kneen (Tyco BMW) and Conor Cummins (Padgett’s Honda) will be among the favourites when racing gets under way later this week on the 8.970-mile Triangle course.