Special appearance for Dunlop's famous Norton

The famous Norton RCW588 raced by Ulster road road racing legend Robert Dunlop will take top billing in a special parade lap at the Armoy road races in Northern Ireland next month.

Steve Spray won the 1989 British Superbike Championship and the Shell Oils F1 series on the same machine, setting a string of new lap records on his way.

Dunlop - tragically killed at the North West 200 in 2008 - famously won both Superbike races at the international road race in 1990, when he was timed through the speed trap at a then unheard of 190mph on the blisteringly-fast Rotary-engined British machine.

Accompanying the bike will be owners Keith and Paul Richardson, and Dave Evans, the original mechanic for the factory Norton team from 1987 until 1992.

Evans said: "I'm really looking forward to coming to the Armoy road races.

"Northern Ireland is a very special place in the world of road racing. I've great memories of the place."

Bill Kennedy, Clerk of the Course, added: "We wanted to add something very special to the parade lap at Armoy.

"The British Norton is an exceptional bike and when Robert Dunlop joined the JPS Norton team he achieved some great wins.

"It will be just fantastic to see the Norton at Armoy, at this stage I'm not sure who is going to be riding it but that might just be a surprise for those that come along."

Last year, Robert's son Michael Dunlop dominated the event with a treble in the Superbike and Supersport races.

The Armoy road races take place on July 27-28.